WORKS  OF 

WILLIAM  ELLIOT  GRIFFIS, 
D.  D.,  L.  H.  D. 

The  Mikado's  Empire. 

Japanese  Fairy  World. 

Corea,  the  Hermit  Nation. 

Japan  :   In   History,  Folk-lore,  and  Art. 

The  Lily  among  Thorns. 

The  Religions  of  Japan. 

Matthew  Calbraith  Perry. 

Brave  Little  Holland. 

Townsend  Harris. 

The  Pilgrims  in  their  Three  Homes. 

The  Romance  of  Discovery. 

The  Romance  of  American  Colonization. 

The  Romance  of  Conquest. 

The  Pathfinders  of  the  Revolution. 

In  the  Mikado's  Service. 

The  Students'  Motley. 

The  American  in  Holland. 

America  in  the  East. 

Verbeck  of  Japan. 


,    »       *     »    o 


»  •        « 


SAMUEL  ROBBINS  BROWN. 


A  Maker  of  the  New 

Orient 

Samuel  Robbins  Brown 

Pioneer  Educator  in  China,  America,  and 
Japan.     The  Story  of  his  Life  and  Work 


BY 


WILLIAM   ELLIOT   GRIFFIS,    L.  H.  D. 

Author  of  "  Verbeck  of  Japan,''  ''The  Mikado's  Empire,'* 
and  ''Brave  Little  Holland'' 


The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  leaven,  which 
a  woman,  took  and  hid  in  three  measures  of  meal. 

—Jesus. 

If  I  had  a  hundred  lives,  I  would  give  them  all  for 
Japan. 

— S.  R.  Brown. 


* '  J  J    i  •> 


New  York  Chicago  Toronto 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 

London  and  Edinburgh 


B7S-^7 


Copyright,     1902, 
by 
FLEMING   H.    REVELL  COMPANY 

{^September) 


»    • 


THE  MERSHON  COMPANY  PRESS, 
RAHWAY,  N.  J. 


WITH  A  "banzai" 

FOR  EVERLASTING  GREAT  JAPAW 

I  DEDICATE  TO  THE 

PUPILS   OF  SAMUEL   ROBBINS  BROWN 

THIS   STORY    OF   THEIR    BELOVED   TEACHER 


302447 


For  we  cannot  tarry  here; 
We  must  march,  my  darlings,  we  must  bear  the  brunt  of  danger, 
We  the  youthful,  sinewy  races,  all  the  rest  on  us  depend, 

Pioneers !  O  Pioneers. 

Have  the  elder  races  halted? 
Do  they  droop  and  end  their  lesson,  wearied  over  there  beyond 

the  seas? 
We  take  up  the  task  eternal,  and  the  burden  and  the  lesson. 
Pioneers!   O  Pioneers! 

—The  Pioneer— V^ oXt  Whitman. 


Preface 

There  is  a  new  Orient,  and  the  chief  instru- 
ments in  its  making  have  been  the  EngHsh- 
speaking  peoples.  A  century  ago  that  part  of 
the  world  ruled  by  Chinese  ideas  cared  nothing 
for  human  beings,  even  for  its  own  people,  be- 
yond the  border.  Now  the  once  hermit  nations 
have  entered  humanity's  brotherhood.  China 
has  all  the  living  nations  of  Europe  for  her 
neighbors.  Korea  has  been  reborn.  Japan  is  a 
world-power.  The  changes  within,  wrought  by 
the  leaven  from  Christendom,  are  even  more 
wonderful  than  those  phenomenal  and  external. 

In  this  twentieth  century  we  can  see  in  clear 
perspective  how  the  transformation  has  been 
wrought.  TTiere  were  many  agencies  and  influ- 
ences stimulating  evolution,  but  none  were  more 
potent  than  the  personality  and  work  of  the 
American  missionaries  in  China,  Japan,  and 
Korea. 

To  tell  the  story  of  the  life  and  work  of  one  of 
the  makers  of  the  New  Orient,  who  in  China 
initiated  Protestant  Christian  education  and 
started  the  first  Chinese  students  to  study 
abroad,  who  in  America  was  pioneer  in  the  for- 
mation of  the  first  chartered  woman's  college, 

7 


f  t 


8  Preface 

and  who,  as  accomplished  scholar,  taught  the 
Japanese  during  nearly  twenty  years,  translated 
the  New  Testament,  began  the  training  of  a 
native  ministry,  and  whose  works  follow  long 
after  he  has  rested  from  his  labors,  is  the  aim  of 
this  work. 

In  its  preparation  I  have  had  Dr.  Brown's 
letters  to  his  parents  and  friends  and  to  the 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Reformed 
Church  in  America,  notebooks  and  journals, 
besides  assistance  from  so  many  friends,  Chinese, 
Japanese,  American,  and  British,  that  I  trust  that 
they  will  pardon  me  for  not  mentioning  their 
names  and  receive  this  general  acknowledgment 
of  thanks,  which  I  make  most  gratefully  and 
heartily.  Four  years  of  close  personal  acquaint- 
ance in  Japan,  while  I  was  engaged  in  the  edu- 
cational service  of  the  Mikado's  government,  and 
nearly  eighteen  of  fellowship  in  the  Reformed 
Church  in  America,  besides  visitations  to  most 
of  the  places  he  dwelt  in,  have  enabled  me  to 
give  to  the  background  some  firmness  of  touch 
and  warmth  of  coloring,  I  trust,  while  allowing 

the  chief  actor  to  speak  for  himself. 

W.  E.  G. 

Ithaca,  N.  Y. 
August,  1902. 


Contents 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.    A  Missionary  Mother,     ....  15 

II.     In  Monson — A  Yankee  Boyhood,   .        .  25 

III.  School-Teaching — Grit  and  Grace,       .  35 

IV.  North  and  South — Elms  and  Violets,  .  45 

V.    Trade    and    the    Gospel-— A    Call    to 

China, 57 

VI.     Pioneer      Educator     in     the     Middle 

Kingdom, 69 

VII.     Under  the  British  Flag,        ...  85 

VIII.     Professor  Brown  at  Rome  Academy,   .  108 

IX.     The  Dutch  Domine   at   Owasco  Lake,  117 

X.    A    Pioneer    in    Woman's    Higher   Edu- 
cation,        127 

XI.     Ho  FOR  Japan!            137 

XII.     Life  IN  A  Buddhist  Temple  at  Kanagawa,  147 

XIII.  All  Things  to  All  Men,         .        ,        .  161 

XIV.  Amid  Wars  and  Rumors  of  War,          .  171 
XV.     Life  and  Work  at  Yokohama,        .        .  185 

XVI.    The  Old  Order  Changing,      .        .        ,  201 

XVII.     In  the  United  States  Again,         .        .  213 

XVIII.     Overland  to  Niigata,      .        .        .        .221 

9 


lO 


Contents. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIX.    The  Era  of  Enlightened  Civilization,    235 
XX.     A  Spiritual  Engineer,     ....     249 


XXI.  Training  a  Native  Ministry, 

XXII.  A  Voyage  in  Southern  Seas, 

XXIII.  Thrusting  in  the  Sickel, 

XXIV.  Last  Home  Coming, 
XXV.  Falling  on  Sleep, 


265 
283 
297 
307 
315 


List  of  Illustrations 


Samuel  Robbins  Brown, 

Scenes  of  Dr.  Brown's  Boyhood, 

The  Brown  Cottage  at   Monson, 

Chinese  Shops  at  Canton, 

The  Reformed  Church  at  Owasco  Outlet 

Verbeck,  Brown,  and  Simons  in  1859, 

Dr.  Brown's  Temple  Home,  .        • 

A  View  of  Yokohama  in  1872, 

Dr.  Brown  and  His  Pupils  at  Yokohama, 

Union  Church,  Yokohama,     . 

The  Rev.  O  Kuno  Masatsuna, 

At  Rest  in  God's  Acre, 


Facing  title 
18 


26 
72 

118 
138 
148 
192 
208 
238 

254 
316 


A  Missionary  Mother 


A  MAKER  OF  THE  NEW 

ORIENT 

I 

A  Missionary  Mother 

BORN  on  that  May  day  in  1783,  when  the 
news  of  the  ratification  of  peace  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  of 
America  was  received,  Phoebe  Allen  Hinsdale 
was  playfully  named  "  The  Olive  Branch."  In 
the  Providence  of  God,  she  was  to  become  one 
of  the  first  and  best  of  early  American  hymn- 
writers  and  the  mother  of  Samuel  Robbins 
Brown. 

Descended  in  the  maternal  line  from  ances- 
tors in  the  Pilgrim  church  that  had  crossed  the 
Atlantic  on  the  Mayflower,  her  father,  George 
Hinsdale,  also  of  English  stock,  settled  at  Har- 
rington, Conn. 

Early  left  an  orphan,  Phoebe's  career  was  a 
very  varied  one,  of  poverty,  suffering,  and  even, 
for  a  time,  cruel  treatment  at  the  hands  of  stran- 
gers. In  her  old  age  she  wrote  her  biography, 
well  worthy  of  print,  which  showed  that  she  was 
not  only  a  reader  of  solid  literature,  but  also  a 


«  »        r 


ji-d'  >  •    A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

poet  and  a  thinker.  She  was  married  at  Ca- 
naan, N.  Y.,  June,  1805,  to  Mr.  Timothy  Brown, 
the  son  of  a  Revolutionary  veteran,  who  had 
served  under  Washington  and  known  the  hor- 
rors of  Valley  Forge.  The  newly  wedded 
couple  removed  to  East  Windsor,  Conn.,  where 
on  the  i6th  of  June,  18 10,  the  future  missionary, 
Samuel  Robbins  Brown,  was  born,  and  in  which 
his  babyhood  and  the  first  three  years  of  his  life 
were  spent,  and  where  his  white-haired  old 
grandfather,  whom  he  dimly  remembered,  died. 
Yet  his  mother,  even  though  busy  with  young 
children  in  a  household  not  noted  for  wealth, 
had  already  begun  hiding  her  leaven.  At  this 
time  Central  New  York  was  being  settled  by 
streams  of  immigrants  from  Connecticut,  New 
Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania.  Busy  with  cutting 
down  the  forests,  breaking  up  the  virgin  soil, 
building  log  cabins,  and  laying  out  roads,  these 
newcomers  needed  aid  for  the  life  of  the  soul. 
Poor  as  she  was,  one  of  Mrs.  Brown's  greatest 
pleasures  was  in  giving,  finding  therein  the 
promised  blessing.  Out  of  her  poverty  went 
small  sums  of  money  to  the  missionary  society 
in  Hartford,  which  sent  books  and  preachers  to 
the  new  settlements  in  the  central  and  western 
parts  of  the  Empire  State.  She  kept  up  her 
studies  in  the  Bible  and  even  wrote  a  little  com- 
mentary on  the  Song  of  Songs.  Her  husband 
was  not  yet  a  member  of  the  church.  As  her 
children    were   born,    she   had    them    baptized. 


A  Missionary  Mother  17 

After  she  had  looked  upon  the  face  of  her  first- 
born son,  the  future  missionary,  she  wrote  in  her 
journal,  "  Sickness  prevents  me  from  carrying 
my  Samuel  to  the  house  of  God,  but  he  was  as 
fervently  and  sacredly  devoted  to  God  in  the 
ordinance  of  private  baptism." 

Heartily  interested  in  making  real  her  daily 
petition,  "  Thy  kingdom  come,"  Mrs.  Brown  be- 
sought God  for  years  that  organized  missionary 
effort  should  be  put  forth  in  foreign  lands  by  her 
own  American  people.  She  kept  herself  well  in- 
formed by  reading.  A  prayer  meeting  held  in 
1806,  by  students  in  Williams  College  under  the 
shelter  of  a  haystack,  grew  into  the  American 
Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions. 

Samuel  R.  Brown  was  thirteen  days  old  when 
the  American  Board  was  formed.  When  Mrs. 
Brown  heard  the  news,  she  took  her  baby  boy 
in  her  arms  and  in  a  thrill  of  rapture  dedicated 
him  to  God  to  bear  his  good  news  of  love  to  dis- 
tant lands. 

Mrs.  Brown  had  to  suffer  penalties.  A  living 
woman  praying,  talking,  working,  giving  for 
foreign  missions  was  too  far  above  the  average 
villager  and  called  forth  many  a  sneer,  but  she 
hid  her  leaven  with  true  faith  in  God.  In  her 
case  it  was  true  that  *'  seeing  that  which  is  in- 
visible does  not  blind  the  eyes  to  duty  near  at 
hand."  She  was  found  faithful  in  all  her  duties 
as  wife  and  mother,  besides  having  public  and 
even  cosmopolitan  spirit. 


1 8        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

In  his  bright  and  sunny  childhood,  at  East 
Windsor,  Robbins,  as  we  shall  call  him,  grew  up 
under  the  ministry  of  the  Rev.  Shuabel  Bartlett, 
for  fifty  years  the  devoted  pastor  of  the  Congre- 
gational Church  in  the  village.  It  was  his 
daughter  Elizabeth,  born  July  i6,  1813,  three 
years  and  one  month  after  Robbins  Brown,  who 
afterwards  became  his  wife  and  helpmate.  The 
old  manse  still  stands,  in  possession  of  a  distant 
descendant  of  the  parson. 

As  the  boy's  eyes  were  not  strong,  he  learned 
his  letters  with  spectacles  on,  yet  by  wise  use  of 
his  eyesight  and  of  the  day  for  work,  these  win- 
dows of  the  soul  were  undimmed  throughout 
life  until  finally  closed  forever. 

To  secure  more  permanent  employment,  the 
father  with  his  family  removed  November  i, 
1813,  to  Ellington,  Conn.,  six  miles  distant, 
where  the  mother  united  at  once  with  the  Con- 
gregational Church. 

During  their  stay  of  five  years  in  this  place, 
two  other  children,  daughters,  were  born.  Here 
also  the  father,  Mr.  Timothy  Brown,  confessed 
his  faith  in  Christ  and  united  with  the  church  on 
the  day  in  1814  that  his  daughter  Mary  was  pub- 
licly dedicated  to  God — a.  day  of  joyful  thanks- 
giving. 

It  was  at  Ellington  that  Mrs.  Brown  wrote  the 
familiar  lines, 

**  I  love  to  steal  a  while  away. 
From  every  cumbering  care,'* 


Home  of  Mr.    and   Mrs.   Brown 
East  Windsor,   Conn. 


Congregational   Church, 
East  Windsor,   Conn. 


Th.e   Old   Brown   Homestead, 
East  Windsor.   Conn. 


Ellington  Road,  where  Mrs.  Brown  wrote 
"  I  love  to  steal  awhile  away." 


SCENES  OP  DR.  BROWN'S  BOYHOOD. 


A  Missionary  Mother  19 

• 

which,  for  nearly  a  century,  have  been  sung  to 
the  tune  "  Monson,"  that  her  son  himself  com- 
posed, the  other  tune,  **  Brown,"  being  written 
by  WilHam  B.  Bradbury  and  named  in  her 
honor.  In  the  original  draft,  the  second  line 
reads 

•*  From  little  ones  and  care,'* 

and  the  future  missionary  was  one  of  these 
"  little  ones."  * 

One  quotation,  often  used  by  the  mother, 
which  greatly  influenced  the  life  of  her  son  was 
this: 

"  Never  do  good  with  the  expectation  of  being 
rewarded  by  gratitude;  gratitude  is  an  exotic 
plant,  cultivated  in  the  greenhouse  of  a  holy 
heart,  but  seldom  found  in  the  cold  wild  soil  of 
the  world  around  you.  Do  good  for  its  own 
sake  and  you  shall  not  lose  your  reward." 
Nevertheless  Samuel  Brown  was,  in  a  sense,  the 
discoverer  of  a  grace  the  very  existence  of  which 
had  been  doubted  by  many — "  gratitude  in 
Orientals." 

For  the  first  three  years  of  Mr.  Brown's  resi- 
dence in  Ellington  business  was  very  brisk,  but 
during  the  last  two  building  seems  to  have  sus- 
pended. With  a  large  family  to  support,  includ- 
ing his  mother  and  sister,  there  was  some  diffi- 

*For  other  hymns  composed  by  Mrs.  Brown,  see 
Julian's  "Dictionary  of  Hymnology"  and  Duffield's 
"English  Hymns." 


20        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

culty  in  obtaining  sufficient  revenue,  so  in  1818 
it  was  decided  to  remove  to  Monson,  a  town 
among  the  hills  on  the  southern  edge  of  central 
Massachusetts  in  Hampden  County.  The  great 
attraction,  perhaps  even  greater  than  the  hope 
of  obtaining  remunerative  employment,  was  the 
Academy,  which  at  this  time  already  enjoyed  a 
noble  reputation. 

We  have  noted  hereditary  forces  and  the  ener- 
gies latent  in  his  environment  which  were  sure 
to  compel  young  Robbins,  then  eight  years  old, 
into  future  orbits  of  usefulness.  Let  us  now 
glance  at  his  future  fields  of  labor,  then  hidden 
from  him.  At  this  time  Japan  was  a  sealed 
island  empire,  with  only  a  breathing  hole  at 
Nagasaki,  where  a  few  Hollanders  lived  and 
traded;  a  single  ship  bringing  once  a  year  news 
of  the  outer  world.  The  continental  empire  of 
China  was  almost  the  same  sort  of  a  political 
hermit,  with  only  one  open  port,  Canton,  and 
Macao  in  Portuguese  possession.  'Both  coun- 
tries, with  Korea,  ignored  all  humanity  be- 
yond their  own  frontiers,  and  refused  to  recog- 
nize even  their  own  people  who  left  their  shores. 
In  America  a  great  wall  of  tradition  isolated 
women  from  learning.  Not  their  feet,  but  their 
brains,  were  bound,  nor  had  anyone  dreamed  of 
a  college  in  which  the  lore  of  the  ages  should 
be  freely  opened  to  them. 

Meanwhile  the  mother  and  father  looked  to 
see  whence  help  should  come.     Their  hope  and 


A  Missionary  Mother  21 

aspirations  were  for  the  education  of  their  chil- 
dren. In  Monson,  in  the  neighboring  State,  was 
an  academy,  presided  over  by  a  master  of  abiHty, 
in  which  a  boy  could  be  prepared  for  college. 
This  was  the  magnet.  So  hither  in  1818  Tim- 
othy Brown,  in  faith  and  hope,  with  his  wife  and 
little  ones  came. 


In  Monson — A  Yankee  Boyhood 


n 

In  Monson — A  Yankee  Boyhood 

FOR  the  place  of  the  developing  boyhood  of 
Samuel  Robbins  Brown,  one  must  look  at 
one  of  those  hill  towns  in  New  England, 
whence  are  the  fountains  of  streams  that  have 
fertilized  the  world.  On  the  map  of  Massachu- 
setts, east  of  the  Connecticut  Valley,  not  far  from 
the  southern  boundary  line  of  the  two  States,  be- 
tween Springfield  and  Southbridge  and  below 
the  railway  that  traverses  the  whole  State,  we 
read  the  name  Monson.  Longmeadow,  Aga- 
wam,  Wilbraham,  and  other  places  which  are 
classic  in  American  history  and  literature  lie  not 
far  away.  The  region  of  lakes  and  ponds  lies 
to  the  east. 

Monson  is  in  Hampden  County,  among  the 
hills  and  above  the  valley  through  which  flows 
the  Chicopee  river.  It  is  four  miles  south  of 
Palmer,  and  fifteen  miles  east  of  Springfield, 
whence  we  ride  on  the  New  London  Northern 
Railroad.  It  consists  chiefly  of  one  long  street 
on  the  hillside,  with  mills  and  various  industries 
at  the  southern  end.  In  the  center  stands  the 
Academy,  whose  students  were  so  long  animated 

as 


26        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

with  a  zeal  for  missions,  and  the  original  magnet 
which  drew  the  Browns  out  of  Connecticut  into 
Massachusetts. 

The  neat  and  attractive  Congregational 
edifice,  with  its  heaven-pointing  spire,  is  a  nota- 
ble "  finger  of  God."  It  stands  with  plenty  of 
room  around  it,  where  grass  may  be  green  and 
flowers  show  masses  of  color,  while  hard  by 
is  the  commodious  parsonage.  The  excellent 
Sunday  School  was  organized  May  5,  18 19,  soon 
after  the  Browns  made  their  home  in  Monson, 
and  the  primary  or  infant  department  was 
founded  by  Mrs.  Brown  herself.  Northward, 
at  the  end  of  the  village,  one  comes  to  a  modest- 
looking  cottage,  in  front  and  around  which 
generations  of  flowers  have  bloomed,  vines  have 
trailed,  and  great  trees  have  grown.  Here  may 
we  look  upon  one  of  the  first  American  centers 
of  prayer  for  Asia. 

Across  the  road  is  the  place  of  the  beginning 
of  Chinese  education  in  America.  The  build- 
ing is  somewhat  altered  from  its  first  form,  while 
yet  substantially  the  same.  Here  lived  the  first 
Chinese  lads  brought  to  this  country  for  Chris- 
tion  education  by  S.  R.  Brown. 

Within  the  grounds,  a  little  to  the  southeast, 
stands  the  carpentry  and  paint  shop  in  which 
Mr.  Timothy  Brown,  the  father,  worked.  To 
the  north  is  a  stream  of  water  flowing  in  a  little 
gorge.  Crossing  this,  over  a  stone  bridge,  we 
reach  the  last  home  where  abides  the  dust  of 


1         )  1 


In  Monson — A  Yankee  Boyhood     27 

father  and  mother,  of  the  missionary  son  and  his 
devoted  companion,  and  the  ashes  of  their  son 
Robert.  It  is  an  encampment  with  many  a 
"  low  green  tent,  whose  curtain  never  outward 
swings."  Not  far  away,  indeed  but  a  few  feet  to 
the  eastward,  are  the  graves  and  monuments  of 
two  Japanese  lads.  To  Monson,  with  New 
Brunswick,  N.  J.,  belongs  the  honor  of  being  one 
of  the  places  of  the  beginning  of  Japanese  edu- 
cation in  America. 

Frontward  of  the  cottage  is  the  hill  crest 
which  makes  sunset  a  little  earlier  for  those  who 
dwell  under  its  shadow.  In  the  good  old  days, 
when  Christians  ''  kept  Saturday  night,"  **  the 
Sabbath  "  was  very  bright  and  cheerful  to  those 
who  loved  the  Lord's  Day.  The  children  of  the 
Brown  family  laid  aside  all  labor  and  boisterous 
amusements,  just  as  soon  as  the  golden  disk  was 
lost  to  sight  behind  the  hilltops.  On  Sunday 
afternoons,  they  waited  with  decorum  and  rev- 
erence, until  old  Sol  had  again  "  pillowed  his 
chin  "  on  the  western  waves  of  granite  and  said 
his  "  warm  good-night."  Then  the  day  of  rest 
was  over,  joyful  sports  at  once  began,  and  mer- 
riment was  the  order  of  the  evening. 

There  seems  to  be  nothing  more  sensible  than 
this  Puritan  Sabbath.  Seen  from  within,  it  stands 
in  happy  contrast  to  the  abominable  modern 
waste  of  force  on  Saturday  night  at  the  theater, 
the  dance,  the  card  party,  the  working  on  the 
fashionable  dress  or  hat  until  midnight,  for  the 


28        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

parade  to  church  next  day  when  the  worshiper 
arrives  ill  fitted  for  devotion.  Solidly  sensible, 
and  decidedly  more  aesthetic,  was  the  idea  of  a 
rest  day  lying  between  sunset  and  sunset. 
There  was  less  robbing  of  God  in  those  days 
than  in  some  modern  methods  of  cheating  the 
Almighty. 

In  the  larger  Sunday  School  of  1824,  when 
Robbins  Brown  was  fourteen,  the  work  of  the 
pupils  at  home  consisted  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent of  "  memorizing  Scripture,  sacred  songs, 
and  the  catechism."  In  five  months  of  that  sum- 
mer, among  146  pupils  in  seven  classes,  the 
record  shows  that  the  two  highest  names  on  the 
roll  were  Alfred  Ely,  Jr.,  and  Samuel  R.  Brown. 
The  first  recited  751,  and  the  second  750  verses 
of  Scripture.  Out  of  the  Sunday  School  went  at 
least  seven  missionaries — to  the  Cherokee  In- 
dians, to  the  freedmen  in  Georgia,  to  India, 
Hawaii,  Persia,  Korea,  China,  and  Japan.  Be- 
sides S.  R.  Brown,  his  school-  and  play-mate, 
James  Lyman  Merrick,  three  years  younger  than 
he,  after  a  notable  record  of  life  work  in  Persia, 
returned  to  Monson  to  sleep  with  his  fathers  in 
the  village  God's  acre. 

The  Rev.  Simeon  Colton  was  for  many  years 
(1806- 1 807  and  182 1 -1830)  the  able  and  inspir- 
ing principal  of  Monson  Academy,  but  young 
Rollins,  when  first  set  to  the  study  of  Latin,  at 
the  age  of  nine,  had  not  yet  come  under  the  mas- 
ter's personal  instruction.     He  was  ordered  at 


In  Monson — A  Yankee  Boyhood  29 

once,  as  it  were,  to  butt  his  infant  noddle  at  the 
language  of  Caesar  and  Cicero,  as  against  a 
dead  wall  without  any  meaning.  Hear  him  tell 
the  story: 

"  I  was  set  to  the  study  of  Adams'  Latin 
Grammar  under  a  private  tutor  who  boarded  in 
my  father's  family  and  was  a  teacher  in  the 
academy,  but  as  he  gave  me  no  hint  as  to  what 
Latin  or  Latin  Grammar  was,  nor  explained 
any  of  its  technical  terms,  I  remember  well  the 
day  I  attempted  to  learn  the  first  lesson  assigned 
me;  that  after  having  read  the  page  that  con- 
tained the  declension  of  penna,  with  the  English 
equivalent  set  opposite  to  the  cases,  I  closed  the 
book  in  perfect  wonder  at  what  it  all  meant. 
Not  many  months  afterwards  I  was  sent  to  the 
academy  .  .  .  and  I  verily  believe  that  for  two 
or  three  years  I  thought  Latin  was  simply  a 
puzzle  made  for  schoolboys." 

Again  he  wrote  in  1879: 

"  I  was  given  a  copy  of  Adams'  Latin  Gram- 
mar, with  instructions  to  learn  the  first  page.  I 
shall  never  forget  the  wonders  excited  in  my 
mind,  when  I  took  the  book,  and  going  across 
the  street  from  my  father's  house,  seated  myself 
in  the  shade  of  a  poplar  tree,  and  opened  the 
volume  to  read  the  first  lesson.  I  as  yet  knew 
not  the  meaning  of  the  word  '  grammar,'  and 
less  still  of  the  expression  '  Latin  Grammar.' 
When  I  had  read  the  declension  of  penna,  with 
its  English  equivalents,  '  a  pen,  of  a  pen,  to  a 


30        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

pen,  O  pen,  with  a  pen,^  I  closed  the  book  and 
thought  *  What  does  all  this  mean?  Why  has 
my  tutor  given  me  this  to  learn?'  As  no  one 
then,  nor  afterwards  explained  the  terms,  gram- 
mar, parts  of  speech,  declension,  etc.,  and  I  was 
but  eight  years  old  at  the  time,  I  think  that  my 
conviction  for  about  two  or  three  years  was  that 
Latin  Grammar  was  just  a  puzzle  made  for 
schoolboys.  Had  someone  informed  me  that 
Latin  was  a  language  once  spoken  by  a  great 
nation,  it  would  have  relieved  me  from  great 
perplexity  and  made  the  acquisition  of  Latin 
more  rapid  and  pleasant  than  it  could  be  while 
I  was  left  to  flounder  on  amid  these  mysteries, 
until  time  and  my  unaided  cogitations  at  length 
furnished  me  a  clew  to  their  unraveling.  I  men- 
tion this  fact  merely  to  show  what  change  has 
come  over  the  methods  of  instruction  in  schools 
since  the  days  of  my  boyhood." 

That  terrible  experience  of  being  set  to  study 
Latin  in  true  Chinese  fashion,  without  the 
slightest  idea  as  to  what  Latin  was,  made  him, 
when  he  had  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  lan- 
guage and  of  Roman  history  a  sympathetic, 
kindly,  helpful,  and  masterful  teacher. 

While  father  Brown  as  carpenter,  cabinet- 
maker, painter,  paper-hanger,  and  glazier  pro- 
vided for  his  family,  young  Samuel  spent  his 
summers  in  helping  his  parents,  attending  the 
Academy  during  the  winter  months.  He  was 
not  ashamed  to  work.     Indeed  he  wondered  that 


In  Monson — A  Yankee  Boyhood     31 

so  many  sons  of  persons  in  the  village,  whose 
parents  were  wealthy,  should  content  themselves 
with  being  merchants  or  storekeepers,  without 
any  higher  ambitions.  He  had  no  desire  to  fol- 
low their  example.  Thus  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen, after  four  years*  instruction  in  the 
Academy,  his  boyhood  over  and  looking  forward 
to  manhood,  he  found  himself  fitted  for  college 
according  to  the  standards  of  the  day.  What 
were  his  ideals  of  life  at  this  time?  Let  himself 
answer. 

"  My  parents  did  not  suggest  to  me  the  course 
I  preferred  (from  my  early  childhood  I  had  had 
one  chosen  line  of  life  before  me,  namely,  to  get 
a  liberal  education,  to  study  for  the  sacred  min- 
istry, and  then  to  be  a  missionary  to  some 
heathen  people),  nor  asked  me  what  I  proposed 
to  do  with  my  education  if  I  should  ever  be  able 
to  attain  it,  though  their  character  and  example 
as  devoted  Christians,  whose  efforts  to  do  good 
were  not  confined  to  their  family  or  neighbor- 
hood, but  extended  to  the  remotest  parts  of  the 
earth,  before  the  first  foreign  missionary  society 
existed  in  this  country,  doubtless  had  much  to 
do  in  shaping  my  course  in  life." 


School-Teaching — Grit  and  Grace 


in 

School-Teaching — Grit  and  Grace 

HAVING  to  earn  his  own  way  through 
the  world,  Robbins  first  tried  his  hand  at 
a  small  district  school,  in  the  town  of 
Brimfield,  Mass.  Here  "  in  his  noisy  mansion 
skilled  to  rule,"  he  persevered  with  the  goal 
ever  in  view.  During  twelve  weeks  he  was  paid 
at  the  rate  of  nine  dollars  per  month,  with  board 
from  house  to  house  in  the  district.  While  he 
taught  "  the  three  R's,"  he  was  fed  largely  on 
the  three  P's — potatoes,  pork,  and  pie.  He 
brought  home  as  his  earnings  twenty-seven  dol- 
lars, which  he  handed  over  to  his  delighted 
father,  whose  exchequer  and  faith  in  his  boy 
were  alike  enlarged. 

After  another  winter  of  work  with  his  father, 
he  went  the  following  summer  to  West  Spring- 
field, Mass.  Here  he  opened  a  select  school  and 
taught  three  months.  At  the  end  he  took  home 
his  net  earnings,  thirty-six  dollars,  giving  them 
all  to  his  father  for  the  family  support. 

He  now  opened  his  heart  to  his  parent  and 
told  him  of  his  wish  to  enter  college.  He  had 
been  already  fitted  for  two  or  three  years,  and 

35 


36        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

his  classmates  had  gone  on  before  him,  while  he 
remained  behind  because  he  had  not  the  means 
of  support.  He  promised  that,  if  permitted  to 
enter  Amherst  College,  he  would  devote  his  first 
earnings  after  graduation  to  lifting  the  mortgage 
from  the  place  which  had  been  bought  as  their 
home. 

Again  the  father,  probably  to  test  the  spirit  of 
his  son  rather  than  to  discourage  him,  replied 
that  his  heart  was  with  him  in  his  purpose,  but 
that  in  all  probability  the  money  he  could  earn 
for  some  years  after  graduation  would  go  to  pay 
his  student  debts. 

Robbins'own  words  are,  "  I  confess  it  seemed 
so  to  me,  but  yet  there  was  back  of  all  this  ob- 
stacle in  my  way,  a  firm,  but  unexpressed,  con- 
viction that  somehow  I  should  succeed.  My 
father  allowed  me  to  make  the  attempt." 

So  early  in  the  autumn  of  1828,  with  his 
father's  horse  and  buggy,  money  enough  in  his 
pockets  to  pay  for  the  horse's  feed  on  the  way 
and  some  crackers  and  cheese  for  himself,  he  set 
ofif  on  the  ride  of  twenty-four  miles  to  Amherst. 
In  the  college  halls  he  was  examined,  and 
passed.  When  he  reached  home  he  was  "  pen- 
niless, but  a  freshman  in  Amherst  ...  I  had  no 
money  to  carry  me  further.  .  .  In  sailor's 
phraseology  I  had  set  my  sails,  but  there  was  no 
breeze  to  fill  them." 

"  While  thus  becalmed,  I  was  called  upon  by  a 
gentleman  from  a  neighboring  town,  who  wished 


School-Teaching — Grit  and  Grace     37 

to  secure  my  services  as  teacher  of  the  district 
school  in  the  place  where  he  resided.  He  of- 
fered me  eighteen  dollars  a  month  and  my  board 
at  a  village  hotel.  I  did  not  hesitate  to  accept 
the  offer,  but  went  to  Wales,  Mass.,  and  taught 
the  school  three  months." 

This  village,  seven  miles  from  Monson,  was 
hardly  a  prepossessing  place  at  that  day.  The 
church  building,  then  in  its  paintless,  dilapidated 
appearance,  was  a  fitting  representation  of  the 
religious  condition  of  the  community.  The  inn, 
at  which  the  young  schoolmaster  boarded,  was 
the  nightly  resort  of  the  village  idlers.  In 
going  out  Robbins  had  to  pass  through  the  bar- 
room, meeting  the  same  persons  every  day, 
and  the  hangers  on  at  the  taproom  all  knew 
him. 

On  his  arrival  he  was  told  that  the  school  was 
a  difficult  one  to  manage,  and  that  the  winter 
previous  the  master  had  been  pitched  out  into 
the  snow  by  some  of  the  big  boys.  "  But  I 
never  knew  what  it  was  to  be  afraid  of  my 
pupils.  Not  that  I  was  strong  and  muscular, 
but  I  felt  that  I  could  manage  them."  On  the 
first  morning  he  forestalled  any  attempt  at  in- 
sult by  making  a  pleasant  speech.  Looking 
into  the  bright  and  intelligent  faces  about  him, 
he  told  the  lads  that  he  had  probably  been  mis- 
informed, and  that  they  had  been  slandered. 
However,  if  anyone  wished  to  try  the  same  trick 
upon  him,  then  and  there  was  the  time  to  settle 


38        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

the  question.  No  champion  stepped  forward 
and  young  Brown  had  no  trouble. 

Nevertheless  the  pedagogue's  patience  was 
often  sorely  tried,  and  discipline  was  not  always 
easy.  Those  pupils  that  came  from  homes 
where  scarcely  any  law  except  that  of  force  was 
known,  were  the  worst  offenders.  But,  as  we 
shall  see,  Robbins  made  up  by  intellect  and  tact 
what  he  lacked  in  sinew.  Happily,  by  heredity 
and  culture  he  had  that  power  which  rends  rocks 
and  softens  savages.  He  was  a  fine  singer  and 
a  good  musician.  How  this  Yankee  Apollo 
more  than  once  in  his  lifetime  raised  walls,  called 
back  beauty  from  the  unseen,  and  even  flayed 
many  a  Marsyas  must  now  be  told. 

Indeed,  music  made  up  a  large  part  of  Robbins' 
life  as  boy,  student,  teacher,  and  missionary. 
He  seemed  to  be  a  well-stringed  harp^  on  which 
the  faintest  breath  would  awaken  melody.  How 
often  do  I  remember  him  in  Japan,  with  his  rich 
tenor  voice  lifting  up  delightful  song.  Once  in 
Tokio,  at  the  house  of  Dr.  P.  T.  Veeder  of  the 
Imperial  University,  when  we  were  all  around 
the  piano,  Mrs.  Veeder  laid  upon  the  rack  a 
fresh  sheet  of  music,  just  received  from  the 
United  States.  Dr.  Brown  proceeded  to  read 
off  the  notes  and  sing  while  she  played.  The 
first  verses  were  pleasant,  the  last  two  or  three 
were  entrancing.  It  was  the  now  well-known 
tune  and  hymn,  "  Tell  me  the  Old,  Old  Story." 
Delighted  and  thankful,  as  we  poured  out  our 


School-Teaching — Grit  and  Grace     39 

congratulations,  I,  not  knowing  its  age,  asked 
him  whether  it  was  one  of  his  old  favorites.  He 
repHed,  "  I  never  saw  it  before.  This  is  the  first 
time  I  ever  sung  it,  but  it's  a  good  one,  isn't  it?  " 
His  musical  gifts,  in  a  sense  hereditary,  were  de- 
veloped by  careful  cultivation.  We  shall  now 
see  how,  at  Wales,  the  music  in  him  softened  a 
savage  breast. 

One  day  when  his  wild  colts  were  unusually 
frisky,  he  had  taken  up,  for  a  slight  offense,  a 
very  small  boy  and  put  him  for  a  few  minutes  in- 
side the  great  oaken  desk  designed  for  the  mas- 
ter's use.  The  large  knothole  in  the  lid,  and 
many  gaping  cracks  in  other  parts  of  this  choice 
bit  of  furniture,  banished  all  fear  of  lack  of  venti- 
lation for  the  urchin  within.  Yet  no  sooner  was 
the  young  plague  incarcerated,  than  his  brother, 
twelve  or  thirteen  years  old,  asked  leave  to  go 
out.  Permission  given  by  the  unsuspecting 
master,  he  ran  home,  telling  his  father,  who  was 
a  shoemaker,  that  the  teacher  was  smothering 
his  little  brother.  The  father  could  neither  read 
nor  write,  but  was  a  great  fiddler  at  country  balls 
in  the  village  inn.  As  Robbins  did  not  know  that 
the  small  boy  had  gone  to  his  father's  house,  and 
as  the  culprit  was  soon  released,  he  was  not  pre- 
pared for  the  explosion  of  the  next  day. 

These  were  the  days  of  quills,  and  the  p^da^ 
gogue's  regular  evening  task  was  to  mend  his 
pens  and  set  copies  for  pupils.  After  supper  of 
that  day,  as  Robbins  sat  in  his  room  upstairs,  he 


40        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

heard  the  shoemaker  burst  into  the  room  below, 
cursing  and  swearing,  while  telling  the  story  of 
the  schoolmaster's  cruelty  to  his  little  boy,  deco- 
rating it  gayly  in  order  to  gain  the  sympathy  of 
the  crowd.  His  hearers,  however,  justified  the 
teacher,  believing  he  had  done  no  harm.  At 
this,  the  man  of  wax  ends  went  ofif,  uncomforted 
and  cursing. 

The  next  morning  the  slim  schoolmaster  must 
pass  the  shoeshop  on  his  way  to  his  daily  toil. 
There  was  deep  snow  lying  on  the  ground,  and 
he  must  needs  find  his  way  in  the  track  of  the 
sleighs.  As  he  neared  the  shop  out  rushed  the 
shoemaker  without  hat  or  coat,  but  with  leather 
apron  on,  and  shirt-sleeves  rolled  up.  He  took 
his  position  in  the  path  directly  in  front  of  young 
Brown,  who  had  his  copy  books  under  his  arm. 
The  disciple  of  Crispin  at  once  assailed  the 
schoolmaster  with  a  volley  of  questions  and 
oaths.  He  seemed  ready  to  follow  his  words 
with  blows  from  his  clenched  fist.  The  out- 
look was  decidedly  dark. 

Robbins  maintained  silence,  allowing  the  noisy 
fellow  to  ventilate  his  passion,  but  kept  up  a  vig- 
orous thinking  as  to  what  he  should  say.  At 
last,  he  thought  of  the  beloved  fiddle.  With  a 
smile  he  asked  most  blandly: 

"  Mr.  Moulton,  don't  you  play  the  violin?" 

Crispin's  disciple  seemed  stayed  by  the  ques- 
tion and  growled  out,  "  Yes,  I  do  sometimes." 

"  Yes,"   said   Brown,   "  I   know   you   do.     I 


School-Teaching — Grit  and  Grace     41 

heard  you  play  at  the  ball  a  while  ago.  I  am  ex- 
ceedingly fond  of  music,  and  I  intend  to  come  to 
your  house  and  get  you  to  play  for  me." 

The  little  tack  had  so  punctured  the  tire  of 
anger  that  the  whole  machine  of  passion  col- 
lapsed in  a  moment.  The  shoemaker  roared  out 
almost  gleefully: 

"That's  right,  come  on!  I'll  play  for  you  at 
any  time  you  please  to  come." 

Never  did  a  towering  passion  subside  so  sud- 
denly. The  soft  answer  had  turned  away  wrath. 
Young  Brown  went  often  afterwards  to  the 
house  of  the  man  who  was  shoemaker  by  voca- 
tion and  violinist  by  avocation.  He  had  dis- 
covered the  ideal  side  of  his  life.  His  wife,  who 
probably  sympathized  with  Robbins'  ideas  of 
discipline,  set  before  the  schoolmaster  her  best 
cooking  and  tickled  his  palate  with  her  dainties. 

Thus  victorious,  young  Brown  learned  a  les- 
son thereby  that  was  of  use  to  him  in  all  his  sub- 
sequent years.  For  self-defense,  tact  was  often 
more  than  thews.  Years  afterwards,  he  saw 
how  one  little  Japanese  policeman,  by  the  fine 
art  of  jujitsu,  could  lay  two  or  three  burly  for- 
eign sailors  sprawling.  As  we  shall  see,  his 
voice  and  his  masterv  of  music  won  him  his 

The  offer  of  a  kind  friend  of  his  mother's  to 
help  her  son  at  New  Haven  deflected  Robbins' 
course  from  Amherst  to  Yale,  and  we  shall  next 
find  our  hero  in  his  native  State  of  Connecticut. 


North  and  South — Elms  and  Violets 


IV 

North  and  South — Elms  and  Violets 

THE  Japanese  author  of  that  twelfth-cen- 
tury classic,  "  The  Romance  of  Prince 
Genji,"  names  each  one  of  her  chapters 
after  some  flower  in  the  garden.  We  may  be 
pardoned  for  entitling  ours  after  the  trees  of  New 
Haven,  under  which  old  Yale  University  grew 
up,  and  the  blossoms  of  South  Carolina,  whose 
beauty  and  perfume Robbins  Brown,  as  a  student, 
loved  so  well.  It  was  a  Japanese  student,  a  half 
century  afterwards,  who  spelled  New  Haven, 
"  New  Heaven,"  though  he  added  that  "  the 
climate  is  too  cold  for  my  health." 

The  future  missionary  started  for  Yale  College 
in  a  coat  remodeled  from  his  father's,  though  it 
was  still  several  sizes  too  large  for  him.  When 
he  arrived  he  had  six  and  a  half  cents  in  his 
pocket,  reserved  on  the  margin  of  his  calculated 
expenses.  With  the  capital  remitted  from 
home  he  settled  in  his  room,  with  a  very  eco- 
nomical outfit  as  to  furniture,  as  a  member  of  the 
class  of  1832,  in  second-term  Freshman. 

A  number  of  his  classmates  who  were  aided 
by  the  American  Education  Society  took  their 

45 


46        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

exercise  daily  by  sawing  wood  in  the  college 
woodyard.  As  nothing  else  offered,  Robbins 
bought  the  tools  for  wood  sawing  and  splitting, 
and  sturdily  began  making  acquaintance  with 
American  hickory.  This  was  the  wood,  very 
light  and  very  strong,  preferred  for  heating.  Its 
virtues  are  next  to  unknown  in  Europe,  thereby 
explaining,  as  some  think,  why  Britons,  less  than 
Americans,  understand  how  lightness  and 
strength  can  be  associated;  hickory  representing 
the  American,  oak  the  British  genius. 

Nevertheless,  before  Robbins  Brown  had 
earned  enough  to  pay  for  the  tools,  he  tired  of 
the  toil  of  which  he  had  had  more  than  enough 
at  home  as  a  boy,  and  which  furnished  no  recre- 
ation. It  was  not  for  him  to  be  a  dull  Jack,  with 
all  work,  and  no  play.  Being  a  good  Bible  stu- 
dent he  early  learned  the  difference  between 
labor  and  work.  To  saw,  split,  and  pile  up  hard 
hickory  logs  eight  feet  long,  brought  only 
seventy-five  cents  a  cord.  The  fruit  of  such  toil 
was  literally  "striving  after  wind."  So,  as  in- 
dustrious as  a  prophet,  or  a  Paul  in  seeking 
work  with  his  hands,  by  which  he  might,  while 
keeping  up  his  studies,  earn  money  to  pay  his 
expenses,  he  looked  for  some  other  bird  to  bring 
him  Elijah's  food.  They  came,  and  lo!  the 
orebim,  that  were  to  deliver  his  bread  and  meat, 
turned  out  to  be  not  ravens,  but  larks. 

Inquiring  among  his  fellow-students,  he  found 
that  they  wanted  vocal  music.     He  could  get  up 


North  and  South — Elms  and  Violets    47 

a  singing  class  that  would  pay  him  better  and 
please  him  more.  He  could  teach  music  both 
vocal  and  instrumental,  and  teach  it  well.  There- 
upon laying  down  the  ax  for  the  tuning  fork, 
and  the  saw-buck  for  the  baton,  he  started  a 
class  in  music  which  helped  finely  to  pay  his  ex- 
penses. 

He  rubbed  through  the  Freshman  year  with 
little  help  from  his  good  friend  Mr.  Backus,  de- 
termining never  to  apply  to  him  for  help  till  he 
had  exhausted  every  other  resource.  He  kept 
a  check  upon  his  purse  by  keeping  a  strict  ac- 
count of  income  and  expense.  During  six 
months  he  waited  on  the  tables  in  the  dining 
room  and  thus  paid  for  his  board.  To  save 
room  rent  he  slept  during  part  of  his  first  year  in 
a  recitation  room,  with  his  schoolmate  in  Mon- 
son  Academy,  Amasa  Dewey.  It  was  from 
this  friend's  house,  a  half  century  later,  that  he 
was  to  pass  into  the  House  of  Eternity. 

In  his  Sophomore  terms  his  quarters  were  in 
the  old  South  Middle,  with  Corydon  Philemon 
Perry,  whose  sister,  the  accomplished  wife  of 
Rev.  Dr.  Maclay,  was  later  his  neighbor  in 
Japan.  During  half  of  this  second  year  he 
served  as  waiter  in  the  upper  hall,  putting  the 
food  that  came  up  from  the  kitchen  below  in 
dumb  waiters,  on  the  table. 

From  the  beginning  of  his  Junior  year  he  had 
no  further  anxiety.  A  member  of  the  faculty 
came  to  him,  informing  him  that  his  name  was 


48        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

the  first  on  the  list  of  applicants  for  the  college 
bell  ringing.  As  he  had  never  put  it  there  or 
asked  anyone  else  to  do  it  for  him,  he  was  both 
delighted  and  surprised.  He  ministered  to  the 
needs  of  the  college  and  supplied  his  wants  for 
that  year  by  making  "  music  in  the  air." 

As  responsible  bell  ringer  he  guarded  against 
propensity  to  sleep  in  the  morning  by  putting  an 
alarm  clock  at  the  head  of  his  bed.  Only  once 
did  he  fail  to  obey  its  prompt  and  noisy  sum- 
mons. The  winter  chapel  service  of  morning 
prayers  was  held  by  candlelight,  and  when,  by 
that  one  infirmity  of  a  second  nap,  he  gave  the 
whole  college  a  happy  half  hour  of  lateness  and 
loss,  he  was  the  hero  of  the  undergraduates  for 
one  day  at  least.  "  What  a  fright  it  gave  me," 
he  wrote,  "  though  I  think  I  was  the  most  popu- 
lar man  in  college  that  morning."  Warned  by 
the  faculty,  he  never  overslept  himself  again. 

He  took  this  lesson  of  lateness  to  heart  for  his 
good.  Thereafter  he  was  a  man  of  the  clock. 
Without  haste  or  waste,  his  life  was  spent  in 
faithful  work,  in  punctuality  and  diligence,  ever 
enjoying  hard  work  and  plenty  of  friends. 

In  the  Senior  year  he  paid  all  his  expenses  by 
teaching  music  in  the  boys*  school  at  New 
Haven.  With  a  quick  eye  and  ready  mind  for 
languages,  he  stood  well  in  his  class.  He  was  a 
hearty  good  fellow.  A  social  gathering  among 
the  students  and  his  New  Haven  friends  was 
hardly  complete  without  young  Brown's  pres- 


North  and  South — Elms  and  Violets    49 

ence.  Just  as  the  three  months'  vacation  before 
Commencement  began,  he  was  invited  to  go  to 
New  York  to  teach  deaf  mutes.  He  accepted, 
and  returned  to  New  Haven  in  time  to  rehearse 
his  piece  for  the  Commencement  stage.  He 
brought  with  him,  as  his  quarter's  pay,  money 
enough  to  settle  his  bills,  and  a  subject  for  his 
Commencement  address,  which  was  "  A  Disser- 
tation on  the  Language  of  Signs,"  which  he  duly 
delivered.  When  he  graduated,  ranking  in  the 
second  of  the  three  divisions  of  his  class,  he  had 
a  sheepskin  in  his  hand,  fifty  dollars  in  his 
pocket,  and  around  him  a  large  circle  of  culti- 
vated and  influential  friends.  Thus,  keeping 
within  his  income,  this  Yale  student  had  become 
a  capitalist.  He  delighted  in  the  Lord,  and  the 
Lord  gave  him  the  desire  of  his  heart.  He 
lacked  no  good  thing  then  or  in  after-life. 

Who  could  then  foresee  that  Yale  University 
would  become  the  favorite  of  students  from 
Japan,  at  that  time  a  sealed  empire,  and  that 
here  at  the  quarter-millennial  celebration  in 
1901  the  Mikado's  premier  Ito,  should,  gowned 
and  capped  in  the  scholastic  garb  of  the  Occi- 
dent, receive  the  degree  of  LL.  D.? 

After  college  life  Brown  taught  school  for 
three  years,  thus  carrying  out  his  promise  to  his 
father  of  financial  assistance.  Besides  this  filial 
purpose,  he  had  other  motives.  In  1879  he 
wrote  : 

"  A  friend  in  Philadelphia  wrote  to  me  at  the 


50        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

beginning  of  what  was  called  the  Senior  vaca- 
tion, three  months  before  Commencement,  urg- 
ing me  to  go  to  Princeton  Theological  Semi- 
nary, and  offering  to  pay  all  my  expenses.  I 
thanked  him  for  his  generosity,  but  told  him  I 
had  two  reasons  for  declining  to  accept  his  offer. 
One  was  that  when  I  asked  my  father's  consent 
to  enter  college,  I  told  him  I  would  devote  my 
first  earnings  after  being  graduated  to  paying 
his  debts;  and  secondly,  I  did  not  think  I  was 
mature  enough  to  commence  the  study  of  the- 
ology, but  needed  more  knowledge  of  men  and 
things  before  assuming  the  responsibility  of  a 
minister  of  the  gospel.  I  therefore  accepted  a 
call  to  the  Institution  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  went  there  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Senior  vacation  in  1832. 

**  I  remained  there  until  the  autumn  of  1835, 
when  I  was  advised  by  my  physician  to  go  to  a 
warmer  climate,  in  order  to  recover  from  the 
effects  of  a  severe  attack  of  pneumonia,  that  I 
had  had  in  Boston,  while  on  a  visit  to  my  elder 
sister  in  that  city." 

In  other  words,  Robbins  Brown  learned  by  ex- 
perience that  next  to  knowing  the  Hub  City  and 
the  radiations  of  its  spokes  in  the  suburban  om- 
nibus, "  tram,"  or  electric  trolley  lines,  it  is  well 
to  know  the  peculiarities  of  Boston's  climate. 
This  ancient  center  of  wisdom  may  not  boast 
what  Mark  Twain  ascribes  as  frequently  pos- 
sible to  Connecticut — one  hundred  and  thirty- 


North  and  South — Elms  and  Violets    51 

three  kinds  of  weather  in  twenty-four  hours — 
but  it  has  an  East  Wind,  that  we  may  be  ex- 
cused for  capitalizing  and  personifying.  With 
this  servant  of  Boreas,  we  declare,  after  seven 
years'  residence  on  Tremont  Street,  it  is  not  safe 
to  run  risks  or  take  liberties.  Indeed,  even  in 
summer  it  is  not  wise  to  go  very  far  without  an 
overcoat.  Young  Brown,  with  too  close  adher- 
ence to  the  scriptural  injunction,  by  failing  to 
take  two  coats,  succeeded  in  taking  pneumonia. 
After  recovery  from  a  long  illness,  he  looked 
southward  for  healing  in  the  region  of  the  pal- 
metto tree.  He  entered  the  Theological  Semi- 
nary at  Columbia,  S.  C,  and  supported  himself 
during  two  years  by  teaching  vocal  and  instru- 
mental music  in  the  Barhamville  Young  Ladies' 
Seminary. 

His  pupils  came  from  many  parts  of  the  coun- 
try. One  of  them  was  the  lady  who  became  the 
wife  of  Bishop  Boone,  whom  he  knew  later  in 
China.  Another  was  Miss  Martha  Bulloch  of 
Georgia,  who  afterwards  married  Theodore 
Roosevelt  of  New  York  and  was  the  mother 
of  four  children,  one  of  whom  became  the 
twenty-fifth  President  of  the  United  States, 
though  she  died  "  before  the  sight "  of  her  illus- 
trious son's  inauguration.  When,  in  April,  1902, 
President  Roosevelt  on  his  way  to  the  Charles- 
ton Exposition  stopped  a  few  minutes  in  Co- 
lumbia, there  was  handed  to  him  a  bunch  of 
violets  grown  on  the  grounds  of  Barhamville. 


52         A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

The  incident  touched  deeply  the  apostle  of  the 
strenuous  life. 

Two  years  of  life  in  this  genial  southern  cli- 
mate found  Robbins  Brown  fully  restored  to 
health,  with  his  lungs  strong,  and  so  he  looked 
northward.  There  were  magnets  drawing  him 
with  subtle  force  thitherward.  One  was  the 
pretty  face  of  the  minister's  daughter  at  East 
Windsor,  to  whom  he  was  betrothed.  Another 
was  the  Union  Theological  Seminary  in  New 
York  City,  then  indeed  in  its  infancy,  but  a  giant 
child,  destined  to  be  one  of  the  noblest  institu- 
tions in  the  land.  Last,  but  not  least,  was  the 
offer  of  a  position  as  teacher,  with  good  salary, 
in  the  New  York  City  Institute  for  the  Deaf  and 
Dumb.  Here  the  potential  missionary  could 
bide  his  time. 

The  promoters  of  Union  Theological  Semi- 
nary, the  first  full  class  of  which  Mr.  Brown 
entered,  were  almost  entirely  men  of  business, 
merchants  who  consecrated  their  talents  and 
money  to  the  service  of  God.  This  fact  had  its 
influence  upon  S.  R.  Brown.  He  learned  to  ap- 
preciate business  men  and  to  look  upon  them  as 
his  comrades  and  co-workers.  He  was  always 
able  to  take  the  right  business  view  of  things, 
and  this  made  him  eminently  practical.  It  pre- 
pared him  to  do  the  great  work  which  is  being 
accomplished  in  China  and  Japan,  in  disarming 
prejudice  and  winning  the  missionary  and  the 
merchant  into  unity  of  service,  thus  helping  to 


North  and  South — Elms  and  Violets    53 

solve  one  of  the  mightiest  problems  in  missions. 
One  of  the  first  ambitions  of  a  missionary  should 
be  to  win  the  merchant  as  his  helper  for  Christ's 
sake.  S.  R.  Brown  was  also  one  of  the  first  and 
pioneer  students  earning  his  own  living  in  the 
great  city,  while  also  pursuing  his  studies  in  the 
science  of  Christian  truth.  Union  Seminary  has 
been  a  leader  in  helping  to  hasten  the  day  when 
the  profession  of  the  preacher,  more  manly  and 
independent,  will  break  from  the  old  traditions 
and  be  better  fitted  for  its  environment  in  the 
American  democracy  and  in  the  world,  by  mak- 
ing young  men  more  serviceable  in  the  cause  of 
truth. 

The  houseless  institution  which  opened  on  the 
5th  of  December,  1836,  despite  the  awful  losses 
by  the  great  fire  of  1835,  was  at  first  peripatetic. 
The  students  went  to  Leonard,  Eldridge,  and 
Nassau  streets  to  be  taught  of  Professor  White, 
Robinson,  Bush,  or  Skinner,  as  the  case  might 
be.  In  the  following  quoted  sentence,  from  the 
first  printed  catalogue,  one  may  recognize  a 
reference  to  Mr.  Brown:  "  No  dormitories  hav- 
ing yet  been  provided,  the  students  came  from 
every  quarter  of  the  city,  as  far  away  as  the  Deaf 
and  Dumb  Institution  on  Fiftieth  Street."  Be- 
sides thus  teaching  daily,  the  future  missionary 
led  the  choir  in  the  Allen  Street  Presbyterian 
Church,  then  at  the  height  of  its  power  and  use- 
fulness. 


Trade  and  the  Gospel — A  Call  to  China 


V 

Trade  and  the  Gospel — A  Call  to  China 

IMMEDIATELY  after  graduation  "the 
Reverend "  Samuel  R.  Brown,  as  he  was 
now,  offered  himself  at  once  to  the  Ameri- 
can Board,  desiring  to  go  to  China.  At  this 
time  both  Japan  and  Korea  seemed  to  be  hope- 
lessly and  hermetically  sealed  against  all  out- 
side Christian  influences.  Even  China  had  but 
the  one  port,  Canton,  open  to  foreign  trade  and 
residence. 

The  times  were  far  from  propitious.  The 
country  had  not  yet  recovered  from  the  panic  of 
1837.  Money  was  scarce,  and  the  Board  was  in 
difficulties.  Fifty  applicants  were  before  our 
hero  and  on  the  waiting  list.  No  missionary 
appointments  could  be  made  until  the  financial 
fog  lifted.  So  Robbins  Brown  continued  his 
teaching  of  the  deaf  and  dumb. 

While  thus  waiting  as  a  prisoner  of  hope,  a 
new  way  was  opened  into  the  Middle  Kingdom. 
Even  as  Union  Seminary  was  the  gift  of  business 
men  to  the  American  metropolis,  so  again  it  was 
primarily   through    the    initiation    of    Christian 

57 


58         A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

merchants,  British  and  American,*  that  edu- 
cation on  modern  methods  was  begun  in 
China. 

The  renowned  Rev.  Robert  Morrison,  D.  D. 
(*  1782  f  1834),  was  the  founder  of  Protestant 
missions  in  the  Chinese  Empire.  He  was  a 
Northumbrian  EngHshman,  who,  with  a  letter 
from  James  Madison,  our  Secretary  of  State, 
found  warm  friends  among  the  Americans  at 
Canton.  After  prodigious  labors,  as  pathfinder, 
for  English-speaking  people,  in  the  Chinese 
language  and  as  translator  of  the  Bible,  he  fell 
asleep  after  twenty-seven  years  of  unselfish  toil 
for  God's  almond-eyed  children.  His  tomb  is  at 
Macao. 

Dr.  Morrison  died  on  the  ist  of  August,  1834. 
Some  of  the  nobler-minded  men  of  trade,  who 
were  eager  to  do  something  on  behalf  of  the 
Chinese,  circulated  a  paper  containing  sugges- 
tions for  the  formation  of  an  association  to  be 
called  "  The  Morrison  Education  Society."  The 
paper  was  dated  January  6,  1835.  By  the  24th 
of  February  twenty-two  signatures  had  been  ob- 
tained, the  sum  of  $4860  collected,  and  a  com- 
mittee of  men  of  honored  names,  Robinson,  Jar- 
dine,  Olyphant,  Dent,  Morrison,  and  Bridgman, 
was  formed  to  propose  the  best  method  of  carry- 
ing out  the  plan  of  diffusing  "  among  one-fourth 
of  the  human  family  that  true  religion  which  is 

*  For  the  beginning  of  American  trade  with  China, 
see  "  America  in  the  East,"  New  York,  1899. 


Trade  and  the  Gospel  59 

one  day  to  pervade  the  whole  earth.  .  .  As  a 
knowledge  of  the  Chinese  language  has  been  of 
great  advantage  to  foreignersj^  so  an  acquaint- 
ance with  the  English  will  be  of  even  greater  ad- 
vantage to  the  people  of  this  empire.  .  .  The 
object  of  this  institution  shall  be  to  establish  and 
support  schools  in  China  in  which  native  youths 
shall  be  taught,  in  connection  with  their  own,  to 
read  and  write  the  English  language;  and 
through  this  medium  to  bring  within  their  reach 
all  the  varied  learning  of  the  western  world. 
The  Bible  and  books  on  Christianity  shall  be 
read  in  the  schools." 

The  isolation  of  the  China  of  that  day,  when 
very  few  indeed  of  China's  millions  had  ever, 
except  as  sailors,  visited  Europe  and  America, 
was  something  which  we  find  it  hard  to  imagine 
in  this  twentieth  century.  The  founders  of  the 
society  said,  "  Our  posterity,  if  not  ourselves, 
may  see  the  Chinese,  at  no  very  distant  day,  not 
only  visiting  Europe  and  America  for  commer- 
cial, literary,  and  political  purposes,  but,  having 
thrown  away  their  antipathies,  their  supersti- 
tions, and  their  idolatries,  joining  with  the  multi- 
tudes of  Christendom  in  acknowledging  and 
worshiping  the  true  God." 

In  order  to  make  the  society  known  in  Eu- 
rope and  America  and  obtain  aid  and  sympathy, 
the  first  public  meeting  was  deferred  until  Sep- 
tember 28,  1836,  when  at  No.  2  American  Hong 
a  small  number  convened.     The  report  showed 


6o        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

that  $9977  were  in  the  treasury  and  1500  vol- 
umes of  books  in  the  library — a  heterogeneous 
and  not  overattractive  collection.  Officers  were 
elected  and  a  constitution  adopted.  At  an  ad- 
journed meeting  held  on  November  9,  1836,  six- 
teen persons  were  present.  Most  of  them  bore 
names  that  now  shine  with  luster  as  those  of  men 
who  have  helped  to  make  China  the  progressive 
nation  she  is  to-day.  By  the  constitution,  the 
trustees  were  to  meet  four  times  a  year.  "  Chi- 
nese youths  of  any  age,  of  either  sex,  and  in  or 
out  of  China  may  be  received,  though  children 
of  six,  eight,  and  ten  years  of  age  were  pre- 
ferred." 

It  was  decided  to  procure  from  Europe  and 
America  two  or  more  young  men,  ambitious  to 
become  perfect  masters  in  the  science  of  teach- 
ing who,  "  with  the  spirit  and  enterprise  of  a 
Pestalozzi  or  a  Lancaster,  will  at  once  come  to 
China,  learn  the  language  of  this  people,  ex- 
amine their  books,  and  investigate  their  method 
of  teaching,  giving  their  whole  strength  to  the 
work."  At  first  most  of  their  time  would  be 
occupied  in  acquiring  knowledge.  Meanwhile 
a  few  pupils  might  be  placed  under  their  care 
and  be  trained  up  to  become  the  teachers  of 
others,  who  in  their  turn  would  be  qualified  for 
the  discharge  of  the  same  duties.* 

*The  authority  for  the  above  outline  of  fact  is  a 
pamphlet  of  sixteen  pages,  printed  at  the  office  of  the 
Chinese  Repository  in   1836,  Samuel   Wells  Williams 


Trade  and  the  Gospel  6i 

The  second  annual  meeting  was  held  October 
3,  1828,  at  which  fourteen  were  present.  One  of 
the  members  of  the  society  was  an  American 
merchant  who  had  a  name,  David  Washington 
Cincinnatus  Olyphant,  which  suggests  shining 
virtues  and  a  link  of  friendliness  between  Eng- 
lish-speaking peoples,  and  to  this  name  he  lived 
up.  He  was  one  of  that  firm  of  American  Chris- 
tian merchants  and  China's  tireless  benefactors 
Talbot,  Olyphant  &  Co.  When  in  America  he 
went  to  Yale  College  and  interested  Professor^ 
Silliman,  Goodrich,  and  Gibbs  in  the  Morrison 
Society's  movement  for  Chinese  education. 
Finding  them  warmly  interested,  he  appointed 
them  as  trustees  to  procure  a  teacher. 

These  gentlemen  at  once  approached  the 
young  but  experienced  teacher  Samuel  Robbins 
Brown,  who  had  already  instructed  the  deaf  and 
the  dumb,  besides  those  in  full  sight,  hearing, 
and  voice.  They  offered  him,  on  the  4th  of  Oc- 
tober, 1838,  the  appointment. 

The  summons  came  to  one  ever  alert  for  duty, 
at  short  notice.  The  nobly  named  ship  Morri- 
son was  to  sail  on  the  i6th.  There  were  there- 
fore but  twelve  days  to  find  out  from  his  be- 
trothed whether  she  would  go  with  him  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth  on  so  short  notice,  to  obtain 
release  from  the  Institute,  to  visit  New  Haven, 

having  been  already  three  years  in  China  as  printer 
and  founder,  with  Dr.  Bridgman,  of  the  Chinese  Re- 
pository. 


62         A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

Monson,  and  East  Windsor,  and  to  secure  a 
complete  outfit. 

She  would.  After  that  initial  problem  was 
settled,  all  the  rest  of  the  way  was  clear.  He  re- 
ceived first  his  commission  at  New  Haven,  bade 
his  parents  and  friends  at  Monson  good-by,  and 
then  hied  to  East  Windsor  to  rejoice  as  a  bride- 
groom, before  starting  out  on  his  long  mission- 
ary race. 

Perhaps  it  was  not  so  easy  for  the  prospective 
bride  to  make  all  her  preparations  for  the  wed- 
ding and  get  all  things  ready  at  short  notice  be- 
fore sailing  on  the  four-months'  voyage  round 
the  globe.  On  the  loth  of  October,  the  mar- 
riage took  place.  He  stood  with  his  bride,  the 
minister's  daughter,  in  his  own  and  her  own 
birthplace,  where  as  children  they  had  played 
together. 

On  Manhattan  Island  the  bride  and  groom 
were  entertained  at  Mr.  Olyphant's  home 
— "  that  mansion  of  Christian  hospitality  " — in 
Rivington  Street  from  the  12th  to  the  17th  of 
October.  To  this  house  the  gifts  which  con- 
stituted their  outfit  for  the  voyage  were  sent. 
These  came  from  Monson,  East  Windsor,  Hart- 
ford, Norwich,  Lyme,  New  Haven,  Brooklyn, 
Philadelphia,  and  New  York.  Thus  a  series  of 
delightful  events  filled  up  the  time  between  Mon- 
day the  8th,  and  Wednesday  the  17th,  of  Oc- 
tober. 

The  Connecticut  Observer  of  Hartford,  Conn., 


Trade  and  the  Gospel  63 

for  Saturday,  November  10,  1838,  tells  some  of 
these  events  and  about  the  ordination  and  sail- 
ing, so  we  turn  to  its  pages.  This  paper  is  a 
curiosity.  It  gives  pictures  of  other  forms  of 
Christian  life  and  work,  seventy  years  ago.  It 
tells  of  the  Colonization  Society's  meeting  in 
Hartford;  of  the  movement  of  the  Cherokees  to 
their  western  home,  and  the  removal  of  Indians 
from  Florida;  the  arrival  of  whaling  ships  at 
Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.;  and  of  a  Baltimore  clip- 
per, fifty-three  days  from  Chili,  besides  giving 
many  other  interesting  items. 

The  profits  of  this  paper  were  devoted  to  the 
Domestic  Missionary  Society  of  Connecticut. 
On  page  2  is  the  notice  of  "  Missionary  Ordina- 
tion and  Departure,"  wherein  it  is  told  that  Mr. 
Samuel  R.  Brown,  a  licentiate  of  the  Third  Pres- 
bytery of  New  York,  was  married  October  10, 
and  on  the  next  Sabbath  evening  was  ordained 
to  the  Christian  ministry  by  the  same  presbytery 
in  the  Allen  Street  Church,  of  which  Mr.  Brown 
had  for  several  years  been  a  member,  and  where 
he  had  labored  with  very  happy  success  for  the 
improvement  of  the  choir  in  the  knowledge  and 
practice  of  sacred  singing. 

Rev.  Dr.  Peters  presided,  and  in  the  name  of 
the  Presbytery,  in  union  with  Rev.  Mr.  Bradley, 
pastor  of  the  church,  affectionately  invited  three 
of  their  brethren,  pastors  from  Congregational 
churches  in  New  England,  to  take  part  with 
them  in  ordination  to  the  ministry  of  reconcilia- 


64        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

tion.  Rev.  S.  Bartlett,  his  father-in-law,  of- 
fered the  introductory  prayer  and  read  the  47th 
Psalm,  second  part,  in  church  psalmody.  Rev. 
D.  M.  Lord  of  Boston  made  the  prayer  before 
the  sermon.  Rev.  Mr.  Bradley,  the  pastor, 
preached  the  sermon  on  "  The  Christian  Min- 
istry as  an  Institution  of  Christ."  Rev.  Dr. 
Peters  offered  the  consecrating  prayer,  and  with 
all  the  members  of  the  Presbytery,  the  congre- 
gational ministers.  Revs.  Bartlett,  Whittelsey, 
and  Lord,  joined  in  laying  on  of  hands :  "  For 
the  separation  of  this  young  brother  as  an  am- 
bassador of  the  Lord  Jesus  to  the  idolaters  of 
China,  to  labor  for  turning  them  from  the  power 
of  Satan  unto  God." 

Professor  White  of  Union  Seminary  gave  the 
charge,  and  all  the  members  of  the  presbytery 
and  the  three  New  England  ministers  gave  the 
right  hand  of  fellowship.  Then  the  Rev.  S.  R. 
Brown  read  the  137th  Psalm  and  pronounced 
the  apostolic  benediction.  The  sacred  song 
was  under  the  care  of  Mr.  S.  L.  Hart,  a  dear 
friend  of  the  young  missionary. 

On  Wednesday  morning,  October  17,  with 
clear  sky  and  favorable  winds  the  missionaries 
embarked,  Rev.  David  Abeel  being  one  of 
them. 

At  twelve  o'clock  parting  salutations  were  ex- 
changed, and  the  returning  company  left  the  ship 
for  the  steamboat,  singing  when  on  board, 

*♦  With  joy  shall  we  stand,  when  escaped  to  the  shore." 


Trade  and  the  Gospel  65 

Thus  happily  began  the  voyage  of  125  days, 
around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  Macao.  The 
Morrison  was  the  same  good  ship  which  had  al- 
ready in  1837  voyaged  to  Japan,  sent  by  the 
American  Christian  merchant,  Mr.  King,  to  re- 
store shipwrecked  waifs  who  were  natives  of 
that  sealed  country.  Then  it  had  been  driven 
away  at  the  mouth  of  hostile  cannon.  Now, 
under  God,  it  was  on  a  more  successful  mission 
to  the  oldest  of  empires.  Her  flag  at  the  peak 
carried  in  its  blue  field  twenty-six  stars. 


Pioneer  Education  in  the  Middle 
Kingdom 


VI 

Pioneer   Education    in    the   Middle 

Kingdom 

BY  way  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  the  In- 
dian Ocean,  and  the  Dutch  East  Indies, 
the  Morrison  arrived  at  Macao  on  Feb- 
ruary i8,  1839. 

Some  of  the  "  Fa-ke  Yuns,"  as  the  Americans 
were  called,  in  the  ship  Morrison,  had  wives,  but 
how  to  land  them  was  a  problem.  Foreign 
women  and  opium  were  not  then  allowed  to 
enter  Chinese  ports.     What  should  be  done? 

Mr.  S.  Wells  Williams,  the  missionary  printer, 
came  out  in  a  covered  boat  to  the  ship,  which  lay 
at  anchor  nine  miles  from  Macao,  and  brought 
the  newcomers  to  the  Customhouse.  The  gov- 
ernor, being  half  Portuguese,  was  willing  to  ad- 
mit Mrs.  Brown  and  the  ladies  as  "  goods,"  or 
"  freight,"  into  the  country.  So  the  Browns 
were  soon  safely  ensconced  under  Mr.  Williams' 
roof.  There  they  remained  during  eight  months, 
while  "  tutor  Brown  "  was  mastering  the  Chi- 
nese language — "  the  oldest  child  of  Babel,"  as 
Mr.  Williams  dubbed  it. 

Strange     experiences     awaited     the     Yankee 

69 


70        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

teacher.  It  was  in  the  midst  of  events  leading 
to  the  opium  war,  and  on  the  day  of  his  arrival 
in  Canton  he  saw  a  Chinaman  strangled  to 
death  for  selling  the  "  dirt,"  as  the  natives  called 
the  hated  drug.  The  next  year  he  saw  the  cap- 
ture of  the  Bogue  forts  by  the  British  fleet.  It 
was  something  like  a  "  baptism  of  fire." 

It  was  soon  after  his  arrival  that  Mr.  Brown 
went  up  to  Canton  in  one  of  Mr.  Olyphant's 
ships,  the  Roman.  From  Whampoa,  in  the  cap- 
tain's gig,  he  was  rowed  nine  miles  to  the  Fac- 
tory, or  foreign  quarter,  at  Canton.  All  along 
the  river  they  were  saluted  with  mud,  stones, 
and  bad  names,  of  which  that  of  "  foreign  devil  '* 
was  heard  oftenest.  This  was  his  welcome  to 
China.  Very  different  from  what  he  had  sung 
at  home,  "  They  call  us  to  deliver,"  etc. 

At  Canton  Mr.  Brown,  with  the  Rev.  David 
Abeel,  met  Dr.  William  Lockhart  of  England, 
and  Mr.  Lionel  Dent,  president  of  the  Morrison 
Education  Society,  who  thanked  him  very 
heartily  for  bringing  his  wife  with  him. 

One  pleasant  episode  in  May,  1839,  was  the 
visit  of  the  U.  S.  frigate  Columbia  and  the  sloop 
of  war  John  Adams.  Very  pleasant  acquaint- 
anceship was  made  with  Commodore  Reed  and 
a  number  of  the  officers,  some  of  whom  were  ear- 
nest Christian  men.  The  letter  describing  this 
event,  like  the  others  in  Mr.  Brown's  China  cor- 
respondence, is  folded,  and  a  square  portion  of 
the  outer  sheet  is  addressed  without  envelope  or 


Education  in  Middle  Kingdom      71 

postage  stamp,  the  post-office  mark  being  New 
York,  October  12. 

Two  letters  written  from  Macao,  April  3  and 
May  29,  1839,  are  upon  the  blank  sides  of  the 
circular  printed  on  Mr.  S.  W.  Williams'  press 
and  sent  out  by  Mr.  Charles  Elliot,  chief  super- 
intendent of  British  trade  in  China.  They  de- 
scribe the  methods  of  the  mandarins'  coercion. 
Under  pressure,  the  foreign  residents  surren- 
dered twenty  thousand  chests  of  opium,  worth 
two  million  pounds  sterling.  With  thirty-four 
ships  manned  by  fifteen  hundred  seamen  lying 
at  anchor  in  the  Macao  roads,  where  they  were 
denied  water  and  food  for  offered  payment, 
though  they  could  easily  take  what  they  ask  for 
as  a  boon,  it  is  asked,  "  How  long  will  England 
continue  to  wear  the  lion  as  her  crest,  and  yet 
play  the  part  of  the  hare?  " 

Mr.  Brown  wrote,  "  Do  not  be  anxious  on  our 
account.     We  have  no  fears  of  personal  danger." 

In  the  autumn  of  1839  ^  large  Portuguese 
house  at  Macao,  1 10  x  60  feet  in  area,  formerly 
occupied  by  Mr.  Gutzlaff  and  in  which  Mrs. 
Gutzlaff,  assisted  by  her  cousins  the  Misses 
Parkes,  sisters  of  the  lad  who  afterwards  became 
Sir  Harry  Parkes  had  taught  Chinese  girls,  was 
rented  for  a  residence  and  school.  It  was  close 
to  the  cave  of  Camoens,  in  which,  according  to 
tradition,  the  banished  poet  in  1568  wrote  his 
"  Lusiads,"  in  which  he  prophesied  the  full  open- 
ing of  Japan  to  the  gospel 


72         A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

The  time  was  one  of  tremendous  excitement 
on  account  of  the  vigorous  measures  of  the  Chi- 
nese government  to  get  rid  of  opium.  The  old 
town  of  Macao  had  seen  its  best  days  as  to  com- 
merce, and  Canton  was  the  only  port  yet  open  to 
foreign  trade.  The  Chinese  did  not  yet  care  to 
have  their  sons  taught  English,  being  content  to 
use  "  pidgin "  or  business  English  as  a  trade 
lingo,  which  answered  their  purpose  sufficiently 
well.  Further,  no  normal  Chinese  in  the  An- 
cient Land  of  Shams,  of  painted  eyes,  of  paper 
tigers,  and  canvas  forts,  could  understand  how 
anybody  without  a  selfish  purpose  could  ever 
want  to  come  from  afar  to  teach  their  sons. 
With  all  the  talk  of  the  Chinese  about  "  benevo- 
lence," despite  the  abundance  of  gilt  paper 
mottoes  inculcating  liberality,  they  could  not 
understand  unselfishness.  It  was  difficult  to  get 
any  pupils  for  this  reason,  and  a  beginning  had 
to  be  made  with  half  a  dozen  boys  only  by  offer- 
ing them  board,  clothing,  and  tuition  free. 
This  promising  initiative  did  not  portend  great 
results. 

The  records  of  the  Morrison  Education  So- 
ciety show  that  there  was  no  meeting  held 
in  1837,  as  had  been  expected,  for  the  whole 
British  community  had  left  port  and  were  gath- 
ered on  deck.  Macao  and  Canton  were  empty 
of  aliens,  and  for  a  while  they  lived  on  the  ships 
at  Hong  Kong.  There  was  no  gathering  until 
1840.    Then  the  Society  was  convened  at  the 


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Education  in  Middle  Kingdom      73 

house  of  Rev.  S.  R.  Brown  in  Macao,  Wednes- 
day, September  29.  Thirteen  members  were 
present,  of  whom  six  were  ministers. 

Mr.  Brown's  first  report  to  the  Society  shows 
that  he  had  devoted  his  mornings  to  his  personal 
study  of  Chinese  and  the  afternoon  and  evening 
to  teaching  EngHsh.  He,  Hke  the  pupils,  gave 
himself  to  the  mastery  of  the  characters  and  the 
language  in  both  its  spoken  and  written  forms. 
An  elderly  Chinese  teacher  taught  the  boys  in 
the  Chinese  classics,  after  the  noisy  manner  of 
the  country,  which  consists  in  bawling  out  the 
sounds,  in  committing  the  ideograms  to  mem- 
ory, in  learning  to  write  the  characters,  a  matter 
of  pure  penmanship,  and  in  expressing  them- 
selves correctly  in  their  native  tongue. 

His  first  purpose  was  to  know  the  Chinese 
mind  and  conduct  his  pedagogics  in  the  most 
philosophical  and  efifective  manner.  He  called 
attention  to  the  absurd  character  of  the  books 
read  and  their  stilted  style,  which  made  a  nation 
of  prigs.  Theirs  was  education  turned  upside 
down.  It  compelled  small  boys  to  read  and  talk 
about  themes  fit  only  for  their  elders.  "  We 
should  rarely  look  for  or  find  young  persons  like 
them,  even  in  England  or  America,  who  could 
discourse  on  moral  or  political  economy,  and 
these  are  the  topics  which  fill  entire  volumes  of 
the  books  which  are  put  into  the  hands  of  tyros 
in  China." 

The  other  difficulty  of  the  Chinese  boy  was  the 


74        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

nature  of  the  Chinese  language,  which  is  neither 
alphabetic  nor  syllabic  in  its  written  expression. 
"  The  English  child  has  only  to  learn  the  powers 
of  twenty-six  letters  and  then  he  is  master  of 
most  of  the  phonetic  elements  that  compose  all 
words.  Not  so  with  the  Chinese  youth;  he  has 
no  such  royal  road  to  the  art  of  reading.  .  .  He 
must  commit  to  memory  the  names  and  mean- 
ings of  at  least  as  many  characters  as  there  are 
words  to  be  read."  Nevertheless,  he  declared 
"  that  there  is  more  philosophy  than  absurdity  in 
the  method  of  instruction  pursued  in  the  schools 
of  China."  Hence  Mr.  Brown  would  make  no 
change  in  the  methods  of  Chinese  schoolmasters. 
Until  he  had  qualified  himself  as  soon  as  possible 
to  interfere  with  this  part  of  their  education. 
**  If  it  is  necessary  for  a  teacher  among  his  own 
countrymen  to  understand  the  minds  of  those 
whom  he  instructs,  how  much  more  imperative 
is  the  necessity  in  order  to  insure  its  success 
among  a  strange  people  in  a  foreign  land.  Now 
language  is  the  portrait  of  the  mind  in  action, 
and  he  who  would  be  familiarly  acquainted  with 
it  must  become  qualified  to  judge  of  its  picture 
with  the  skill  of  an  artist." 

The  Yankee  tutor  had  already  noticed  that  it 
was  because  such  an  attainment  as  a  knowledge 
of  the  language  of  China  was  so  rare  among  for- 
eigners, that  there  was  so  much  misconception 
and  ignorance  as  to  Chinese  feelings,  prejudices, 
and    habits.    Who    indeed    can    understand    a 


Education  In  Middle  Kingdom      75 

people  unless  he  understands  their  history?  He 
wrote,  '*  There  is  Httle  or  no  play  of  sympathies 
between  us.  Our  intercourse  is  much  like  that 
of  two  untaught  mutes  that  meet  with  ideas  cir- 
cumscribed by  the  limits  of  what  their  eyes  have 
seen,  and  picture  to  each  other  in  pantomime  the 
mere  outlines  of  the  true  thoughts  they  have  in 
common,  and  then  part  again  in  utter  ignorance 
of  each  other's  spiritual  being." 

In  attacking  the  Chinese  language,  the 
American  teacher  found  that  some  of  the  first 
links  in  the  chain  that  should  unite  the  alien  and 
the  native  in  mutual  understanding  were  still 
wanting.  The  simplest  questions  in  grammar 
were  at  that  time  "  unasked  and  unanswered  in 
any  work  on  Chinese  philology  in  the  English 
language."  Hence  his  determination  to  achieve 
some  mastery  of  the  Chinese  before  attempting 
to  revolutionize  old  methods.  His  idea  through- 
out life  was  evolution  rather  than  revolution. 

He  laid  emphasis  on  the  fact  "  that  if  we 
should  hope  to  effect  any  great  change  in  the 
system  of  education  prevalent  in  China,  it  must 
mainly  be  done  by  efforts  made  in  China  itself." 
He  then  points  out  the  unwisdom  of  establishing 
schools  for  the  Chinese  in  Chinese  colonies,  as 
had  been  done,  rather  than  in  China  itself.  By 
inquiring,  he  found  that  in  those  days  only  three 
or  four  in  a  hundred  of  emigrants  from  China 
ever  returned.  "  Our  point  of  attack,  all  friendly 
as  it  is,  should  be  in  China  itself,  and  nowhere 


76        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

else.  .  .  In  this  service  I  am  ready  to  toil  until 
I  die." 

He  soon  found  out  how  excessively  rare  it  was 
that  a  foreigner  in  China  could  read  a  Chinese 
book,  or  write  the  Chinese  language,  while 
even  among  the  natives  of  this  reputed  "  nation 
of  scholars,"  it  was  the  exception  rather  than 
the  rule  to  find  a  man  who  could  read  freely  in 
Chinese  literature  or  write  fluently  the  language 
in  general,  rather  than  a  limited  stock  of  ex- 
pressions or  technical  or  trade  terms.  His 
pupils  could  more  quickly  and  pleasantly  write 
English  than  their  own  native  tongue.  With 
tens  of  thousands  of  ideographs  or  ''  characters  " 
the  Chinese  have  no  alphabet. 

'*  Nor  is  it  at  all  strange  that  the  boys  in  our 
school  find  it  easier  to  write  English  than  Chi- 
nese. Every  alphabetic  or  syllabic  language 
must,  in  the  nature  of  things,  be  less  difficult  of 
acquisition  than  one  formed  after  the  model  of 
the  Chinese,  which  exhibits  only  in  the  remotest 
manner  any  design  to  meet  that  demand  of  the 
mind  which  has  usually  resulted  in  the  inven- 
tions of  alphabets." 

After  discussing  with  acuteness,  ability,  and 
insight  the  defects  of  Chinese  education,  he  adds, 
concerning  his  pupils,  "  They  are  exceedingly 
fond  of  Western  music,  and  I  should  have 
yielded  to  their  repeated  solicitation  to  instruct 
them  in  vocal  music,  had  the  pressure  of  other 
duties  been  less.     When  I  shall  have  the  happi- 


Education  in  Middle  Kingdom     77 

ness  to  welcome  an  assistant  to  China,  this 
branch  of  education  must  not  be  omitted,  both 
because  of  the  habits  it  inspires  and  the  soften- 
ing, elevating  influence  it  exerts  upon  the  minds 
of  the  young.  As  it  is,  they  are  now  familiar 
with  quite  a  number  of  English  melodies." 

What  progress  the  Chinese  boys  soon  began 
to  make  may  be  guessed  at  from  a  letter  to  Mrs. 
Brown  in  Monson,  from  one  of  her  son's  pupils, 
named  Awan.  His  father  was  one  of  Dr.  Mor- 
rison's proteges,  a  son  of  an  old  servant  of  his 
father's.  Dr.  Robert  Morrison.  Mr.  Brown  had 
at  first  almost  despaired  of  the  boy's  being  any- 
thing, but  lately,  as  he  wrote.  May  7,  1842,  "  he 
has  brightened  up  wonderfully.  He  was  fifteen 
years  old,  and  made  nothing  of  algebra."  It  re- 
veals some  of  the  difficulties  which  enlightened 
lads  had  to  contend  against  from  elderly  rela- 
tives in  a  land  so  populous  with  idols  and  gov- 
erned out  of  the  graveyard,  as  China  is.  The 
letter  is  reprinted  verbatim: 

Macao,  May  7,  1842. 
My  Dear  Mrs.  Brown: 

Mr.  Brown  left  his  father,  and  mother,  and 
friends  and  came  to  China  to  teach  the  Chinese 
boys.  When  he  came  to  China,  after  eight 
months,  he  had  some  Chinese  boys  living  with 
him.  In  about  a  year  and  a  half  some  of  them 
ran  away,  and  no  longer  did  many  boys  come  to 
Mr.  Brown's  house.     Sometimes  the  father,  and 


78        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

friends  call  the  boys  home  to  worship  the  idols, 
and  at  the  graves. 

The  English  and  Americans  have  made  a 
great  many  Chinese  books  about  Jesus  Christ, 
and  give  them  to  the  Chinese.  Sometimes 
when  walking  round  about  the  streets,  some  men 
ask  them,  and  they  give  them  to  them.  By  and 
by  the  Chinese  men  look  at  them,  and  find  out 
Jesus  Christ,  and  God  in  the  book,  and  mock, 
and  laugh.  Sometimes  the  Chinese  tear  them 
into  shreds,  and  burn  them  up.  Some  of  them 
go  to  a  distance,  with  the  books,  and  meet  the 
Chinese  soldiers,  and  they  are  beaten.  The 
Chinese  mandarins  are  very  severe.  One  of  the 
officers  is  named  the  Tso-Tong.  When  he  wishes 
to  go  out,  he  calls  some  of  the  beggars  to  be  sol- 
diers, and  two  of  them  beat  gongs,  and  the  sol- 
diers hold  some  whips  in  their  hands.  The  Tso- 
Tong  sits  in  a  sedan  chair,  and  all  the  men  go 
before  him  through  the  streets,  and  everybody 
stands  up.  If  they  don't  do  so,  they  beat  them 
with  their  whips.  Sometimes  the  soldiers  catch 
a  man,  and  say,  You  do  opium  business?  Yes, 
says  he.  They  take  him  to  the  mandarins  to  be 
tried.  Sometimes  he  is  beheaded.  Some  of 
them  are  rich,  and  give  many  dollars,  and  the 
officers  let  him  out.  Some  of  them  are  poor, 
and  have  not  any  money  to  pay  out,  and  are  put 
to  prison  for  life.  The  Chinese  mandarins  do 
not  improve  at  all ;  but  they  are  always  about  the 
same.    The  Chinese  are  proud,  and  easily  pro- 


Education  in  Middle  Kingdom      79 

Voked,  and  envy  each  other,  and  everyone  is  bad. 
They  care  for  nothing  but  money. 

Every  week  there  is  a  monitor  in  the  school. 
When  the  boys  get  up  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, the  monitor  rings  the  bell,  then  all  the  boys 
come  up  into  the  school,  and  read  Chinese 
books,  till  half-past  seven  o'clock.  The  monitor 
rings  the  bell  again,  and  all  the  boys  go  to  the 
dining  room,  and  read  the  Bible,  and  pray  to 
God.  Then  Mr.  Brown  explains  it  to  us  and  we 
sing  a  hymn  every  morning,  and  every  evening. 
Mr.  Brown  has  a  Chinese  teacher  to  teach  the 
boys  from  nine  to  twelve  o'clock,  then  all  the 
boys  go  to  play.  At  one  o'clock  all  the  boys 
come  again  to  the  school,  and  then  he  explains 
history  to  us,  and  afterwards  we  write  it  out  in 
the  evening. 

Another  letter  dated  Macao,  June  7,  1842,  is 
from  Afun,  in  the  first  class,  but  the  youngest  of 
the  boys  and  very  promising.  He  says  to  Mrs. 
Brown,  "  I  have  never  heard  of  any  Chinese  who 
would  give  his  own  son  to  go  so  far  as  from 
China  to  America  for  other  men's  good.  They 
are  always  afraid  they  will  lose  their  lives." 

Moral  training  and  the  building  of  character 
were  set  before  merely  intellectual  discipline  at 
the  Morrison  School.  One  day  Mr.  Brown, 
after  looking  for  certain  books  to  use,  found  that 
his  oldest  pupil,  during  one  year,  had  stolen 
them.    The  lad  had  gone  back  to  his  father's 


8o        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

house  in  the  country,  whither  he  had  taken  also 
the  purloined  property.  There  conscience  smote 
him.  He  felt  very  bad  and  finally  brought 
back  the  books;  coming  with  flowing  tears  to 
Dr.  Brown  in  his  study  at  evening,  he  told  his 
storv.  "  It  seems  as  if  I  had  two  hearts  within 
me,  one  heart  said  '  don't  take  them  back,'  the 
other  said  *  take.'  "  Raising  his  right  hand,  he 
smote  his  breast  and  said,  ''  I  put  down  that  bad 
heart,  and  resolved  to  bring  these  books  back. 
So  here  they  are  and  now  will  you  forgive  me?" 
Mr.  Brown  forgave  cheerfully  and  told  him  to 
ask  God  to  forgive  him.  It  was  a  true  conver- 
sion to  repentance. 

Another  pupil,  Awing,  fourteen  years  old, 
small  and  smart,  had  been  in  school  one  and  a 
half  years  when  he  wrote,  June  7,  1842,  to  Mrs. 
Brown  at  Monson,  Mass.,  as  follows:  "In  the 
school  there  were  sixteen  boys,  six  of  whom 
form  the  first  class  and  ten  of  them  form  the 
second."  He  had  been  on  board  an  English 
man-of-war  and  on  the  ship  Surprise.  "  Few 
Chinese  have  been  over  to  America.  In  our 
country  the  people  are  so  proud  that  they  swell 
up  as  balloons." 

The  climate  during  the  first  summer  was  try- 
ing. "  We  are  so  softened  and  enervated  by  the 
summer  heat  of  this  latitude  that  we  feel  it  if  a 
cloud  obscures  the  sun.  We  never  see  frost 
here,  but  we  keep  fires  for  our  comfort  during 
about  three  months  of  the  year."     He  enjoyed 


Education  in  Middle  Kingdom      8i 

the  tea  and  fruits  of  China,  but  did  not  Hke  the 
cramped  quarters,  for  there  was  Httle  room  for 
walks  or  exercise  in  the  space  within  which  for- 
eigners were  shut.  He  sent  home  curiosities  to 
his  young  friends  in  New  England.  This  was 
the  time  when  the  wave  of  enthusiasm  for  silk 
culture  was  passing  over  the  United  States,  and 
tens  of  thousands  of  people  were  infected  with 
the  idea  that  silkworms  could  be  profitably 
raised  in  our  northern  climate  and  with  our  sys- 
tem of  labor.  He  purchased  at  the  request  of 
some  friends  in  Connecticut  ten  dollars'  worth  of 
mulberry-tree  seed,  that  is,  two  and  two-thirds 
pounds,  and  no  doubt  the  good  people  of  the 
Nutmeg  State  who  experimented  soon  found 
that  neither  as  to  soil,  climate,  or  labor  prices 
was  Connecticut  likely  ever  to  be  a  rival  of 
southern  China.  The  monuments  of  failure  are 
found  all  over  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States,  in 
those  avenues  of  plantations  of  mulberry  trees 
which  to-day  make  the  uninformed  wonder  how 
they  came  to  be  where  they  are.  I  remember  a 
pleasant  summer  spent  at  Mount  Airy,  near 
Philadelphia,  under  rows  of  these  trees. 


Under  the  British  Flag 


vri 

Under  the  British  Flag 

THE  issue  of  the  "  opium  war  "  was  the 
cession  of  the  island  of  Hong  Kong  to 
Great  Britain.  After  four  years  at 
Macao,  at  the  dawn  of  peace,  the  governor  of 
Hong  Kong  offered  the  Society  an  ehgible  lot 
on  Morrison  Hill  for  its  edifice.  The  president 
of  the  Morrison  Education  Society,  Mr.  Dent, 
gave  three  thousand  dollars  toward  the  erection 
of  a  new  building.  This  gave  Mr.  Brown  the 
opportunity  for  founding  the  school  under  the 
Union  Jack,  and  on  British  soil,  where  his  ideas 
could  be  better  carried  out.  The  school  was  re- 
moved from  Macao  to  Hong  Kong,  November 
I,  1842.  In  the  dormitory  there  were  rooms  for 
twenty-four  boys.  On  April  7,  1843,  the  Eng- 
lish department  was  ready. 

Dr.  D.  B.  McCartee,  in  1894,  thus  pictures  the 
Hong  Kong  of  1844,  the  year  of  his  arrival  in 
China. 

"  Hong  Kong  gave  little  promise  of  being, 
what  it  has  since  become,  one  of  the  best  known 
and  most  important  of  Great  Britain's  foreign 

85 


86        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

possessions;  with  its  splendid  landlocked  har- 
bor, its  numerous  handsome  public  buildings, 
the  palatial  establishments  of  its  merchant 
princes,  its  beautiful  botanic  gardens,  and  its 
well-built  streets  crowded  with  a  bustling  throng 
made  up  of  people  of  almost  every  nation  and 
tribe  under  heaven,  speaking  discordant  lan- 
guages, and  dressed  in  almost  every  kind  of 
garb. 

''  The  sides  of  the  hills  were  ragged  with  exca- 
vations. Streets  or  building  sites  were  being  dug 
out;  huge  round  masses  ('  bowlders,'  as  the  un- 
learned called  them)  of  syenite  or  basalt  lay  here 
and  there,  to  the  uncovering  and  disintegration 
of  which  was  then  attributed  the  great  mortality 
that  prevailed  among  the  European  and  East  In- 
dian residents.  With  the  exception  of  the  resi- 
dence of  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  Colony,  the 
Morrison  School  taught  by  the  Rev,  S.  R. 
Brown  and  the  London  Mission's  Hospital  under 
Dr.  Benjamin  Hobson  (these  two  side  by  side 
upon  one  of  the  smaller  hills),  and  the  mercan- 
tile establishment  of  Messrs.  Jardine  &  Mathe- 
son,  at  Eastpoint,  European  buildings  were  few 
and  interspersed  promiscuously  with  mud  houses 
and  mat  sheds. 

"  Among  the  foreigners  then  at  Hong  Kong 
were  Sir  Henry  Pottinger,  the  negotiator  of  the 
new  treaty;  Sir  Hugh  (afterwards  Lord)  Gough 
and  Sir  Gordon  Bremer,  the  military  and  naval 
Commanders  in  Chief  in  the  war  that  had  so 


Under  the  British  Flag  87 

lately  terminated.  They  could  generally  be  seen 
at  the  early  Sunday  service  in  the  large  mat 
shed,  long  since  replaced  by  the  Cathedral  of  the 
Bishop  of  Victoria." 

In  the  Morrison  School  the  pupils  devoted  half 
the  time  of  each  day,  except  Saturday  and  Sun- 
day, to  the  study  of  Chinese  under  native  mas- 
ters and  half  to  English  under  himself.  He  was 
now  working  to  much  better  advantage  with  a 
text-book  of  his  own  preparation.  Seeing  the 
need  of  such  a  work,  Mr.  Brown  had,  during  a 
seven  weeks'  visit  with  his  wife  to  Singapore  in 
1 84 1,  prepared,  on  the  basis  of  Dr.  James 
Legge's  "  Lexilogus,"  a  new  language  book  for 
Chinese  pupils  studying  English.  In  the  origi- 
nal the  colloquial  portion  was  given  in  English, 
Malay,  and  Chinese  literary  style  and  the  Foh- 
kin  and  Canton  colloquial  dialect.  At  Singa- 
pore he  met  Dr.  J.  C.  Hepburn  and  his  wife. 
After  five  years  in  China,  they  were  afterwards 
to  work  together  for  twenty  years  in  Japan. 

Mr.  Brown's  fifth  annual  report,  in  1843,  was 
duly  printed  and  sent  out,  though  no  meeting  of 
the  Society  was  held.  His  philosophical  insight 
and  grasp  of  the  educational  situation  in  China 
are  shown  in  his  report.     He  says: 

"  The  Morrison  Education  Society  would  set 
the  wheel  in  motion  by  which  the  old  superan- 
nuated process  of  making  men  mere  peaceable 
machines  shall  be  exchanged  for  another,  in 
which  human  nature  shall  be  aided  to  put  forth 


88         A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

a  vigorous  growth  of  knowledge  and  virtue. 
As  things  now  are,  these  are  nipped  in  the  bud. 
It  is  no  thanks  to  the  Chinese  system  of  training 
if  here  and  there  a  blossom  survives  and  comes 
to  wholesome  maturity.  We  come  then  to  res- 
cue the  youth  of  China  from  this  destructive 
blight,  and  what  do  we  find  upon  our  hands  at 
the  outset?  When  a  pupil  is  received  into  our 
school  he  is  young,  ignorant  of  almost  every- 
thing but  the  little  affairs  of  his  home,  prejudiced 
against  all  that  is  not  of  Chinese  origin,  the  dupe 
of  superstition,  trembling  at  the  shaking  of  a  leaf 
as  if  earth  and  air  were  peopled  with  malignant 
spirits,  trained  to  worship  all  manner  of  sense- 
less things,  and  in  short  having  little  but  his 
mental  constitution  to  assimilate  him  to  the  child 
of  Christendom,  or  to  form  the  nucleus  of  the 
development  we  will  give  him.  It  is  quite  im- 
possible for  me  to  describe  my  emotions  when 
looking  for  the  first  time  on  a  class  of  new 
pupils." 

The  Chinese  pupil  then  had  to  have  "  his  mind 
emptied  of  a  vast  accumulation  of  false  and 
superstitious  notions  that  can  never  tenant  an 
enlightened  mind,  for  they  cannot  coexist  with 
truth."  Young  as  they  were,  the  pupils  were 
victims  of  habits  among  which  were  "  an  utter 
disregard  of  truth,  obscenity,  and  cowardliness. 
I  have  never  known  a  Chinese  boy  who  was  not 
at  first  possessed  of  them  all.  Is  it  possible  to 
transform  these  beings  who  have  grown  up  .  .  . 


Under  the  British  Flag  89 

under  a  false  and  defective  training  into  enlight- 
ened Christian  men?" 

The  American  teacher  believed  that  the  ful- 
crum to  rest  his  lever  upon  for  the  elevation  of 
degraded  minds  was  in  the  affections.  He 
soon  found  that  kindness  met  with  a  quick  re- 
sponse. 

Both  the  colloquial  and  the  book  languages 
were  ill  suited  to  right  education,  the  school- 
books  then  in  use  being  the  "  Four  Books  "  and 
the  "  Five  Classics,"  written  by  men  who  lived 
before  the  Christian  era.  The  primer  or  first 
elementary  book  was  in  poetical  form,  three 
characters  to  a  line,  and  in  most  concise  and 
elliptical  style.  The  other  works  are  chiefly 
interesting  on  account  of  their  antiquity,  the 
pupil  "  drinking  only  the  froth  of  words,  without 
once  tasting  of  the  water  beneath." 

Mr.  Brown's  report,  in  nineteen  printed  pages, 
is  a  masterly  analysis  and  summary  of  the  staple 
of  Chinese  education. 

He  writes  that  after  a  few  months  the  false 
notions  of  the  lads  respecting  the  physical  uni- 
verse have  vanished  away,  "  their  very  counte- 
nances have  exchanged  their  original  leaden  as- 
pect for  one  of  comparative  activity  and  life. 
The  slumbering  mind  has  been  awakened  to  a 
consciousness  of  its  own  power,  exercises  have 
increased  their  fondness  for  reflection  and  ob- 
servation, and  their  spontaneous  inquiries  are 
frequent  and  often  puzzling.     Many  of  them  are 


90        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

not  satisfied  until  they  know  the  truth  of  the 
matter." 

At  the  seventh  general  meeting  of  the  society- 
held  September  24,  1845,  ^^  the  society's  house 
on  Morrison  Hill,  twenty-seven  members  were 
present,  Mr.  Brown's  summary  of  progress 
chows  that  he  was  overcoming  the  suspicions  of 
the  Chinese  and  raising  up  a  new  kind  of  mind 
in  the  land  of  Confucius. 

Seeing  the  need  of  a  class  book  on  political 
economy  which  should  be  a  thousand  or  two 
years  nearer  present  conditions  than  the  writ- 
ings of  Confucius  and  Mencius,  Mr.  Brown  pre- 
pared an  elementary  work  on  this  science  which 
he  translated  into  the  Chinese  and  had  published 
at  Canton,  in  1847. 

The  eighth  annual  report  at  the  meeting  of  the 
Society,  September  30,  1846,  when  seventeen 
were  present,  was  read  by  Mr.  Brown.  In  this 
he  urged  that  the  order  of  development  in  China 
should  be  first  the  school,  then  the  academy,  and 
then  the  college,  as  in  Christendom.  He  be- 
lieved in  stooping  down  first  to  the  child's  intel- 
lect, teaching  the  Bible  with  its  wealth  of  wis- 
dom and  simplicity  of  power,  and  then  going 
forward  in  the  regular  order  of  training  in  the 
higher  branches  of  science. 

There  was  not  much  variety  to  break  the 
monotony  of  steady  toil,  so  the  Browns  found 
their  joy  in  work  and  home,  and  their  recreation 
in  social  interchange.     The  seven  weeks*  travel 


Under  the  British  Flag  91 

and  rest  at  Singapore  made  one  notable  break, 
and  besides  there  were  occasional  trips  to  Can- 
ton. One  was  to  spend  Christmas  of  1843  with 
the  Parkes  (two  sisters  and  a  brother),  at  Can- 
ton. The  boy  who  was  to  grow  up  to  be  Great 
Britain's  able  minister  and  consummate  diplo- 
matist in  Japan,  China,  and  Korea,  was  then  fif- 
teen years  old,  and  serving  as  interpreter  on  the 
staff  of  Sir  Henry  Pottinger.  Of  his  two  sisters, 
the  elder  had  married  Dr.  William  Lockhart, 
who  founded  the  first  hospital  in  China. 

The  sight  of  Christian  children  born  in  China 
was  a  rare  one  in  1843,  and  the  two  Brown  chil- 
dren made  a  decided  sensation.  They  were 
petted  almost  to  the  spoiling  of  them  by  those 
whose  language  they  spoke,  while  the  Chinese 
were  very  eager  to  see  these  "  children  of  devils  " 
as  they  then  spoke  of  aliens. 

Of  his  visit  to  Canton,  December  28,  1843,  he 
writes: 

**  My  dear  wife  and  her  two  bairns,  Julia  and 
Robert,  with  their  nurse  and  Miss  Gillespie  to- 
gether with  myself  formed  the  party.  We  have 
spent  eight  days  at  Canton,  passing  Christmas 
there,  and  having  spent  the  time  most  agreeably. 
Our  American  and  English  friends  were  very 
happy,  it  appeared,  to  see  us,  and  did  much  to 
express  this  gratification  at  having  the  company 
of  the  ladies  and  children.  The  little  ones  were 
rare  visitors,  even  more  so  than  the  ladies.  The 
Chinese  were  loud  in  their  expressions  of  ad- 


92        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

miration  at  seeing  these  kwai  tsai  (children  of 
devils),  as  they  very  modestly  and  politely  styled 
them.  We  went  out  in  boats  into  the  country 
once  or  twice,  to  a  considerable  distance,  and 
nowhere  met  with  any  obstruction  to  our 
rambles.  There  has  been  a  great  change  here 
since  1839,  when  I  first  ascended  the  river. 
Then  I  was  stoned  and  saluted  with  mud  all 
along  on  the  banks  of  the  stream  as  I  passed  up 
from  Whampoa  to  the  city.  Now  no  such  thing. 
A  beginning  of  change  has  made  its  appearance, 
which  I  confidently  regard  as  only  the  begin- 
ning. A  few  years  more  will  exhibit  still  greater 
changes. 

"  While  at  Canton  Mrs.  Parkes  and  the  other 
ladies  all  went  one  day  to  see  the  judge  of  the 
district,  Hwang  by  name,  who  was  formerly  at 
our  house  in  Hong  Kong,  on  an  evening's  visit. 
He  met  Mr.  Lay,  the  British  consul,  and  Sir 
Henry's  aid-de-camp.  Captain  Brooks,  on  the 
day  first  mentioned,  to  hand  over  to  them  the 
supplementary  treaty,  with  the  Emperor's  sig- 
nature attached  to  it.  Hwang  is  very  much  of 
a  gentleman,  a  really  refined  man  in  his  manners, 
and  he  went  into  the  side  room  to  shake  hands 
with  the  ladies  and  take  a  cup  of  tea  with  them. 
He  chatted  away  for  nearly  an  hour  with  them, 
and  the  ladies  returned  home  much  pleased  with 
their  visit.  A  respectable  Chinese  merchant  of 
Canton  came  to  me  at  Dr.  Parker's,  to  secure  a 
place  in  our  school  for  two  of  his  nephews.     I 


Under  the  British  Flag  93 

think  it  will  not  be  long  before  the  wealthy  Chi- 
nese will  send  their  sons  to  us  to  be  educated. 
The  reproach  of  the  thing  is  fast  passing  away." 

Another  pleasing  incident  was  the  arrival  of 
the  U.  S.  S.  S.  Brandywine,  the  man-of-war 
named  in  honor  of  Lafayette's  visit  to  America 
and  to  the  battlefield  of  that  name,  and  which 
Captain  Matthew  C.  Perry  commanded  when  an 
American  squadron  gathered  at  Naples  in  1832. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Jones,  former  tutor  of  Mr.  Brown, 
at  Yale  College,  was  chaplain.  Besides  meeting 
his  old  friend,  the  exile  from  home  keenly  en- 
joyed the  music. 

"  The  band  of  the  U.  S.  S.  S.  Brandywiney 
which  is  now  in  this  harbor,  has  just  closed  a 
serenade  to  one  of  our  neighbors.  Dr.  Ander- 
son, on  the  hill  next  to  us,  and  it  has  reminded 
me  so  much  of  home  in  Yankee  land  that  I  feel 
a  strong  penchant  for  writing  to  the  dear  ones  of 
the  cottage  under  the  sycamores.  That  band, 
though  small,  has  given  us  such  a  musical  treat- 
as  we  have  never  had  on  this  side  of  the  world. 
*  Oft  in  the  Stilly  Night '  was  played  beautifully, 
and  sent  its  solemn,  lengthened  notes  around 
this  amphitheater  of  mountains  and  hills  and 
over  the  star-lit  waters,  most  thrillingly.  I 
wanted  to  hear  *  Yankee  Doodle.'  Little  Julia, 
who  was  out  on  the  brow  of  the  steep  in  front  of 
the  house  with  us,  part  of  the  time,  could  hardly 
contain  herself.  She  whispered  every  half  min- 
ute, *  That's  nice,  that's  nice.     Is  that  *  Monkey 


94        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

Doodle  '?  Is  it  Yankee?'  Then  she  added/  I've 
never  been  in  America.'  She  was  on  board  the 
Brandywine  some  weeks  ago,  and  the  band  filled 
her  ear  then." 

Other  agreeable  friends  were  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
King,  who  had  voyaged  on  the  ship  Morrismv 
to  Japan  to  return  shipwrecked  natives,  only  to 
be  driven  away  by  powder  and  ball.  Mrs.  King 
was  the  daughter  of  the  Rev.  James  M.  Math- 
ews, Chancellor  of  the  University  of  the  City 
of  New  York  and  pastor  of  the  South  Dutch  Re- 
formed Church  in  New  York,  in  which  later,  in 
1859,  the  mission  to  Japan  was  planned  and 
financed.  In  the  Morrison,  she  was  probably  the 
first  white  woman  to  look  upon  Japan. 

Warm  friendships  sprang  up  between  the 
Browns  and  the  English  missionaries,  many  of 
whom,  especially  on  their  first  arrival,  found 
hearty  welcome  from  the  American  educator. 
**  Yankees  though  we  arc,  they  seem  to  enjoy 
us,"  he  wrote  home  to  his  father,  who  was  long- 
ing to  see  his  grandchildren,  born  in  semi- 
tropical  China,  **  coasting  down  the  Monson 
hills,  on  which  lay  snow  a  yard  deep."  His 
mother  sent  contributions  regularly  to  sustain 
the  work  in  China.  To  the  children  at  home  he 
wrote,  "  Large-hearted  people  are  the  happiest, 
because  they  are  most  like  God." 

From  a  letter  to  his  sister  Fanny,  from  Vic- 
toria, Hong  Kong,  29th  of  March,  1844,  we  have 
a  lively  picture  of  his  surroundings: 


Under  the  British  Flag  95 

"  From  our  windows  wc  have  a  panoramic 
view  of  the  harbor  and  town,  a  charming  pros- 
pect that  never  tires.  We  only  want  a  little 
verdure  to  look  at,  to  make  it  one  of  the  prettiest 
spots  you  might  wish  to  see.  We  are  now  put- 
ting an  additional  covering  of  tiles  on  the  roof, 
and  inclosing  the  rear  veranda  (or  piazza,  as  you 
would  call  it)  to  keep  the  rain  and  wind  out. 
On  the  top  of  this  hill  there  is  nothing  to  break 
the  force  of  the  wind.  A  typhoon  would  be  no 
trifle  to  us,  I  fear.  The  veranda  extends  round 
the  four  sides  of  the  house,  and  the  wind  might 
lift  it  up  and  lay  it  one  side  some  day,  without 
much  ceremony.  But  notwithstanding  it  is  a 
good  house  and  accommodates  forty-four  indi- 
viduals very  well.  This  much  for  the  *  house 
we  live  in.'  Now  for  what  is  done  in  it.  We 
rise  betimes  in  the  morning,  that  is,  at  the  time 
we  get  up.  I  dare  not  mention  the  hour,  lest 
you  should  think  us  late  risers,  though  I  can  as- 
sure you  we  are  not  a  whit  behind  you  in  that 
respect,  for  we  can  boast  of  rising  at  least  twelve 
hours  earlier  than  our  folks  do  at  home.  Presi- 
dent Day  and  the  faculty  used  to  say  that,  if  a 
man  was  up  the  proper  time  in  the  morning 
through  his  college  years,  he  would  acquire  the 
habit  and  it  would  not  easily  forsake  him.  Per- 
haps this  may  account  for  my  habitual  early 
rising.     If  not,  I  don't  know  how  to  explain  it. 

"  Before  breakfast  the  boys  (twenty-eight  are 
now  here)  go  to  the  schoolroom.     At  half-past 


96        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

seven  they  come  into  the  dining  room  to  family 
worship,  when  all  the  older  boys  read  with  us. 
The  seraphine  stands  before  a  fglding  door  that 
leads  from  the  parlor  to  the  dining  room,  and 
when  this  door  is  thrown  open,  the  room  is  vir- 
tually double.  After  reading  we  sing  and 
*  kneel  before  the  Lord  our  Maker.'  Then  at 
eight  o'clock  comes  breakfast,  a  light  meal.  At 
nine  the  boys,  who  have  likewise  breakfasted,  re- 
turn to  the  schoolroom,  and  their  English 
studies  commence.  Elizabeth  and  a  lady  by  the 
name  of  Marshall,  who  is  now  here,  then  ac- 
company me  thither,  and  we  teach,  talk,  and  ex- 
plain, and  expound  till  one  o'clock,  when  we  go 
to  our  dinner  and  the  boys  have  a  recess  till  two. 
At  two  they  commence  their  Chinese  studies 
again  under  a  native  master,  and  the  rest  of  the 
day  till  half-past  six  is  spent  by  us  in  the  various 
duties  that  call  for  our  attention.  At  five  the 
boys  go  to  their  dinner  and  from  that  time  till 
half-past  six  they  do  what  they  please,  provided 
it  is  proper.  They  are  generally  at  play  on  the 
hill.  At  half-past  six  we  again  assemble  for 
family  worship  and  then  we  take  tea,  with  little 
besides,  and  the  boys  go  to  their  studies  till  nine, 
when  they  are  dismissed  for  the  day.  At  ten 
they  are  all  required  to  be  in  bed.  Each  has  a 
room  to  himself  and  none  sleep  together,  except 
one  or  two  little  shavers,  brothers.  Ten  is 
our  professed  hour  for  retiring,  but  it  is  often 
twelve. 


Under  the  British  Flag  97 

"  Such  is  the  general  outline  of  the  routine  of 
our  daily  performances.  Wednesdays  we  have 
no  school  in  the  afternoon,  and  the  boys  study 
Chinese  in  the  forenoon.  On  Saturday  they 
study  English  in  the  forenoon  and  have  a  half- 
holiday  after  that.  This  is  to  allow  them  time  to 
wash  their  clothes.  All  the  boys  do  their  own 
washing.  It  is  the  custom  of  the  country.  We 
give  them  their  board  and  tuition.  They  fur- 
nish their  own  clothes  in  most  cases  and  Chinese 
books  and  stationery.  We  now  have  thirty  on 
our  catalogue,  two  are  absent.  They  are  in  the 
government  service  as  interpreters  at  Shanghai. 
They  will  return  in  about  a  month  to  be  replaced 
by  two  others,  thus  spending  six  months  away 
and  six  months  at  school.  The  first  six  months 
are  nearly  expired,  and  soon  one  of  the  boys  now 
at  school  will  go  up  to  relieve  one  of  those  who 
are  absent.  Elizabeth's  hands  are  very  full  of 
work  as  well  as  mine,  what  with  teaching  a  class 
or  two,  and  superintending  her  household  affairs. 
We  are  greatly  in  want  of  a  teacher  to  help  us. 
It  seems  as  if  I  could  secure  one  in  a  day,  were 
I  in  the  United  States.  When  will  that  New 
Haven  committee  get  one?  *  I  dinna  ken.'  I 
am  afraid  they  do  not.  But  really  it  is  too  bad 
to  have  everything  suflFer  as  it  now  does,  for 
want  of  a  man." 

We  must  now  relate  an  adventure  in  which, 
besides  incurring  deadly  peril,  our  educational 
pioneer  left  some  of  his  blood  on  China's  soil. 


98        A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

The  Chinese  coast  was  infested  with  pirates, 
and  the  good  work,  of  improving  this  species  of 
human  vermin  off  the  face  of  the  earth,  so  ably 
carried  on  afterwards  by  British  and  American 
sailors,  had  not  yet  been  vigorously  begun. 
More  than  one  missionary  fell  a  victim  to  these 
murderers  on  sea  and  land,  nor  was  our  pioneer 
educator  wholly  to  escape  their  attacks.  It  was 
while  Dr.  Brown's  first  daughter  was  four  or  five 
years  old  and  his  son  Robert  a  baby,  and  Dr.  D. 
B.  McCartee,  a  newly  arrived  guest,  and  some 
Chinese  boys  were  in  the  school  with  him,  that 
the  startling  episode  took  place.  The  house  on 
Morrison  Hill  overlooked  the  sea  on  one  side 
and  the  flourishing  new  settlement  on  the  other, 
the  slope  on  either  side  being  very  abrupt.  The 
inclosure,  or  "  compound,"  contained,  besides 
other  outbuildings,  a  large  henhouse.  Several 
Chinese  workmen  were  employed  in  the  garden 
and  about  the  place,  and  were  in  the  habit  of 
coming  and  going  freely. 

One  night,  about  midnight,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Brown  were  awakened  by  hearing  angry  voices 
just  outside  the  window.  The  talk  was  in  Chi- 
nese, and  it  was  naturally  supposed  that  the 
speakers  were  quarreling  workmen.  Stepping 
to  the  door,  Mr.  Brown  called  to  them  in  a  com- 
manding voice  to  keep  quiet.  "  It  is  I,  your 
master;  you  must  make  less  noise  and  go  away." 
But  instead  of  a  calm,  the  tumult  increased.  He 
heard  men  moving  about,  though  in  the  darkness 


Under  the  British  Flag  99 

he  could  see  nothing.  Meanwhile  the  pirates, 
for  such  they  were,  kept  lunging  with  their  long 
spears  where  the  speaker  stood.  They  thrust 
first  on  one  side  and  then  on  the  other,  at  ran- 
dom. Suddenly  Mr.  Brown  felt  the  hot  burning 
sensation  of  a  spear  or  dagger  entering  his  right 
leg.  Then  he  knew  that  the  noisy  rascals  were 
not  workmen,  but  robbers.  At  once  he  called  out 
to  Mrs.  Brown  to  fly  with  the  children  and  hide 
herself  and  them.  With  the  aid  of  Dr.  McCartee 
and  his  Chinese  pupils,  she  took  the  two  little 
children,  and  they  fled  to  the  henhouse  and  hid 
quietly  there.  Among  the  Chinese  boys  was 
Yung  Wing,  who  showed  nerve  and  presence  of 
mind  and  was  of  great  assistance. 

Mr.  Brown,  though  wounded  and  suflFering 
from  loss  of  blood,  seized  a  box  containing  valu- 
ables, and  dragging  it  to  the  edge  of  the  bluflf, 
overlooking  the  town,  pushed  it  over.  It  rolled 
down  and  fell  into  some  bushes,  where  it  was 
afterwards  found  and  recovered.  Then  he  too 
escaped  and  hid  with  the  others  in  their  strange 
shelter.  With  such  materials  as  they  had  at 
hand,  scraped  from  the  floor  of  the  henhouse, 
they  stanched  the  flow  of  blood,  and  tearing  off 
some  of  his  clothing  bound  up  the  wound,  thus 
undoubtedly  saving  his  life.  Meanwhile  the  rob- 
bers, finding  nothing  portable  to  satisfy  their 
greed,  broke  in  the  doors  and  windows,  cut  the 
beds  in  pieces  with  their  swords,  hoping  to  find 
hidden  treasure,  then  gathered  up  the  clothing, 


lOO      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

made  a  heap  of  it  on  the  floor,  and  setting  every- 
thing on  fire,  returned  to  their  ship. 

In  their  frightful  situation  the  family  re- 
mained till  daylight,  not  knowing  but  that  at  any 
moment  they  might  be  discovered,  and  be  mur- 
dered in  the  barbarous  manner  in  which  Chinese 
pirates  delighted,  for  the  foreigner  was  an  es- 
pecial tit-bit  for  them,  and  the  process  of  slicing 
up,  or  the  "  thousand  cuts,"  was  one  of  their 
methods  of  amusement  with  unransomed  cap- 
tives. Happily  the  baby  made  no  cry,  and  all 
the  others  kept  bated  breath,  while  the  pirates 
did  not  think  of  looking  among  the  chickens  for 
their  prey.  The  next  morning  Mr.  Brown  had 
his  wound  properly  dressed. 

Luxuries  were  not  altogether  absent.  It  was 
not  yet  the  day  of  importation  of  American 
flour,  petroleum,  cotton,  clocks,  and  machinery, 
but  from  the  Eastern  States  of  America  ice, 
apples,  and  butter  for  foreigners,  and  ginseng 
for  the  Chinese,  with  furs  from  Oregon  and  san- 
dalwood from  Hawaii,  were  then  the  staples.  A 
dish  of  "  greenings  "  from  Massachusetts,  a  keg 
of  Orange  County  butter,  and  some  home-made 
ice-cream,  were  the  usual  indulgences  celebrat- 
ing the  arrival  of  a  ship  from  New  York  or  New 
England. 

In  literary  activities  and  in  preaching  Mr. 
Brown's  labors,  though  without  money  and 
without  price,  were  notable.  He  contributed 
steadily    for   years    to   the    Chinese   Repository, 


Under  the  British  Flag  loi 

preached  in  Chinese  once  a  month  in  a  chapel  to 
a  full  house,  and  frequently  in  his  own  tongue  to 
the  congregation  of  English-speaking  people  in 
Hong  Kong. 

Before  being  a  teacher,  missionary,  or  parson, 
Robbins  Brown  was,  first  of  all,  a  man.  Hear  an 
anecdote  told  in  1901. 

While  Dr.  Brown  was  at  Hong  Kong  a  half 
dozen  American  boys  landed  one  day.  They 
had  wanted  to  go  to  sea,  and  had,  at  first,  a  plan 
to  run  away  which  their  sensible  parents  had 
frustrated,  sending  them  ofif  in  a  body  on  a  ship 
bound  for  Hong  Kong.  By  the  time  they 
reached  that  port  they  were  pretty  homesick. 
The  captain  told  them  they  might  have  a  day  on 
shore.  "  But,"  said  they,  "  where  shall  we  go? 
We  don't  know  anybody." 

"Well,"  said  he,  "you  go  and  see  Mr.  Brown, 
the  missionary;  he's  a  good  fellow." 

They  went  with  fear  and  trembling.  Mr. 
Brown  met  them  at  the  door  with  a  warm  wel- 
come, took  them  into  his  house,  which  was 
American  enough  to  be  homelike,  and  made 
their  hearts  glad  with  witty  stories  and  friendly 
talks.  But  the  climax  was  reached  when  he 
opened  some  bottles  of  soda  water,  which  went 
to  the  right  spot. 

Many  years  afterwards,  when  Dr.  Brown's 
son  Robert  had  enlisted  in  the  Union  army  and 
was  taken  by  Colonel  Bissell  into  his  tent  as 
orderly,  the  colonel,  who  had  been  one  of  those 


I02      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

same  boys,  discovering  the  relationship  of  the 
young  man,  told  this  story  (not  once,  but  often); 
always  ending  off  with  the  remark,  "  I  have 
tasted  that  soda  water  ever  since." 

Thus  happily  unfolding  his  plans,  his  work  en- 
larged grandly.  He  was  living  in  high  hopes  of 
spending  uninterruptedly  the  greater  part  of  his 
life  in  China.  During  part  of  the  time,  for  short 
periods,  other  persons  assisted  him:  Mr.  Bonney; 
Mrs.  Gillespie,  a  Scottish  lady;  Dr.  Happer,  and 
Mrs.  Brown.  During  his  last  year  of  service  his 
assistant  was  the  Rev.  William  A.  Macy  from 
Yale  College,  of  the  class  of  1844,  ^"  earnest  and 
promising  man,  who,  however,  soon  succumbed 
to  pulmonary  disease,  dying  in  1859. 

Mr.  Brown's  high  hopes  of  long  service  in 
China  were  dashed  by  the  failure  of  his  wife's 
health.  Three  children  had  been  born  in  his 
home,  one  of  whom  had  died.  At  first  it  was 
thought  that  careful  nursing  and  a  change  of  air 
would  restore  her  vigor,  but  it  soon  became  evi- 
dent she  must  return  to  America,  if  her  life  was 
to  be  saved.  So,  regretfully,  the  decision  was 
made  to  start  for  Massachusetts.  Nevertheless, 
part  of  the  school  emigrated  with  the  master,  for 
with  the  Browns  went  three  of  the  most  promis- 
ing lads,  as  we  shall  see. 

The  school  of  the  Morrison  Education  So- 
ciety, which  at  first  was  the  only  educational  es- 
tablishment of  its  kind  in  China,  receiving  for  a 
time  the  undivided  support  of  the  community, 


Under  the  British  Flag  103 

survived  a  few  years  longer  after  the  departure 
of  Mr.  Brown,  and  then  passed  out  of  existence. 
Such  a  school  as  the  Morrison,  founded  on  the 
broad  principle  of  Christian  philanthropy  alone, 
was  overlooked,  or  passed  by,  as  possessing  in- 
ferior claims  to  support.  Nevertheless  it  was  the 
parent  school.  Instead  of  one,  there  are  now 
hundreds  of  such  schools  in  China.  The  mother 
died,  but  the  children  live. 

In  a  word,  the  Morrison  School  died  in  the 
same  sense  that  they  die  who  confer  a  more 
glorious  life.  Just  as  some  of  our  New  Eng- 
land towns,  now  shrunk  to  mere  hamlets  or  ab- 
sent from  the  map,  after  sending  out  scores  and 
hundreds  of  educated  men  and  women  to  enrich 
the  nation  at  large  and  even  the  world  afar,  so 
the  school  of  the  Morrison  Education  Society 
ceased  its  life,  because,  as  soon  as  China  had 
other  ports  open  beside  Macao  and  Canton,  edu- 
cational interests  were  expanded  rather  than 
scattered.  Each  branch  of  the  Christian  Church 
had  then  its  own  educational  activities  to 
strengthen  and  develop.  The  results  of  Mr. 
Brown's  work  were  to  be  seen  later  on. 

The  subscription  lists  show  a  total  of  $100,500 
collected  from  the  beginning  to  1848,  the  largest 
donation  from  one  person  being  $3000.  Mr. 
Brown  hoped  to  be  able  to  visit  Europe  and  ob- 
tain funds  to  maintain  the  Morrison  School,  but 
in  this  hope  he  was  disappointed.  Arriving  in 
the  United  States  during  the  excitement  and  un- 


I04     A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient. 

certain  state  of  affairs  attendant  upon  the 
Mexican  war,  he  was  able  to  collect  no  more 
than  $750.  The  work  was  carried  on  until  1848 
by  Mr.  Macy.  Then  the  calamity  that  Mr. 
Brown  had  foreseen,  in  the  atmospheric  possi- 
bilities, took  place.  A  typhoon,  or  tornado, 
having  partially  destroyed  the  school  edifice, 
Mr.  Macy's  strength  proving  unequal  to  further 
demands,  and  subscriptions  failing,  the  work  was 
abandoned. 

The  Chinese  statesman  Yung  Wing,  writing 
in  1901,  says:  "In  the  schoolroom  Dr.  Brown 
was  at  home.  He  had  tact,  patience,  and  kindly 
ways.  He  easily  won  the  confidence  of  his 
scholars,  by  coming  down  to  their  level.  There 
was  none  of  that  austerity  and  sham  loftiness 
which  characterize  some  school-teachers,  who 
wish  to  hide  their  shallowness  and  lack  of  peda- 
gogic resources  by  keeping  their  pupils  of¥  at  a 
distance.  He  was  one  of  those  rare  men  who 
mold  and  shape  the  character  of  the  age  through 
the  men  whom  they  have  trained.  The  men 
who  had  the  privilege  of  the  doctor's  early  train- 
ing, though  few  in  number,  have  yet  all  turned 
out  well,  and  have  done  work  in  after-life  credit- 
able to  any  teacher.  The  doctor  took  pride  in 
them,  while  they  cherish  his  memory  and  that  of 
Mrs.  Brown,  the  companion  of  his  toil,  with  the 
deepest  gratitude  and  reverence." 


Professor  Brown  at  Rome  Academy 


VIII 
Professor  Brown  at  Rome  Academy 

WE  Americans  in  the  early  forties  had 
no  "  Pacific  Coast,"  as  we  understand 
it  now,  and  certainly  no  California  as 
yet.  So  the  ship  bearing  the  Browns  homeward 
took  the  old  and  orthodox  route  from  China 
through  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  and  around  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  New  York. 

As  the  vessel  drew  near  the  homeland,  in 
April,  1847,  the  American  passengers,  so  long 
away  from  mothers  and  fathers,  allowed  their 
thoughts  to  dwell  on  what  they  should  have  to 
eat.  Each  one  named  his  favorite  dish,  whether 
in  or  out  of  season.  Codfish  balls,  hot  corn  on 
the  cob,  succotash,  brown  bread  and  baked 
beans,  noodles  and  schnitz,  apple  dumplings, 
turkey  and  cranberry  sauce,  terrapin.  Saddle 
Rock  oysters,  canvasback  duck,  egg  plant  and 
sweet  potatoes — what  should  it  be?  The  Chi- 
nese boys,  being  less  familiar  with  American 
specialties  of  diet,  had  indistinct  visions  of  what 
was  to  come,  but  Mr.  Brown  cast  his  vote  in 
favor  of  baked  beans.     It  being  in  New  Eng- 

107 


io8      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

land  almost  an  article  of  orthodoxy  to  serve  the 
beans  on  the  day  of  rest,  these  were,  with  brown 
bread,  in  a  sense  synonymous  with  the  Sabbath. 
Yet  the  day  of  delectation  was  Wednesday. 
What  prospect  for  baked  beans,  and  on  Man- 
hattan Island,  too? 

Leaving  the  ship,  he  came  with  his  own  family 
and  the  Chinese  boys  to  the  house  of  his  sister, 
Mrs.  D.  E.  Bartlett,  on  Fiftieth  Street.  How 
she  was  prepared  for  such  a  sudden  influx 
of  population,  she  could  not,  when  writing  in 
1901,  remember.  Nevertheless,  what  was  al- 
ready in  the  larder  was  quickly  set  on  the  table 
for  the  voyagers,  hungry  for  land  food.  Enter- 
ing the  dining  room,  the  educator  from  China 
took  his  seat  at  the  table,  and  behold,  a  crock  of 
baked  beans!  Surprised  and  dehghted,  he  told 
the  story  of  his  inward  cravings.  Then,  with 
hearty  appetite,  he  attacked  the  reminder  of  boy- 
hood's days. 

After  a  short  stay  in  New  York,  the  Browns 
left  for  M'onson,  Mass.  It  was  a  great  day  for 
the  village  when  he  came  back  from  "  the  Land 
of  Sinim."  The  three  Chinese  boys  were  in  a 
garb  never  before  seen  in  western  Massachu- 
setts. A  returned  missionary  was  not  as  fre- 
quent a  sight  then  as  at  present  and  such  very 
young  "  Sons  of  Han "  were  indeed  rarities. 
The  three  lads,  Wong  Shing,  Wang  Afun,  and 
Yung  Wing,  made  a  great  impression.  Al- 
though they  were  at  once  the  "  lions  "  of  Mon- 


At  Rome  Academy  109 

son,  the  boys  all  thought  they  were  girls.  Their 
long  hair  impressed  the  ladies.  The  average 
local  **  nine  days'  wonder  "  paled  before  such  a 
sensation  as  this  that  lasted  for  weeks.  Their 
caps  and  cues  and  silk  coats  furnished  themes 
for  conversation  in  church,  school,  and  street. 
Nevertheless,  the  pleasing  manners  of  the  Chi- 
nese boys  won  the  hearts  of  the  people.  There 
was  no  fear  as  yet  of  a  "  Mongolian  "  deluge, 
por  were  the  "  Sand  Lots  "  of  San  Francisco 
then  known. 

The  boys  were  lodged  in  the  house  opposite 
the  Brown  cottage  and  kept  steadily  at  work  at 
their  studies,  in  order  to  enter  the  Academy. 
They  quickly  learned  to  enjoy  American  life, 
even  the  fun  and  jokes  which  the  Yankee  young 
folks  played  upon  and  with  them.  To  the  end 
of  their  lives  they  delighted  in  Yankee  humor. 
The  gong  which  they  sometimes  struck  made 
an  immense  sensation,  for  nothing  like  it  had 
been  seen  before.  Curiously  enough,  the  imple- 
ment used  in  China  to  scare  the  moon-swallow- 
ing dragon  and  make  him  disgorge  the  planet 
soon  became  an  "  institution "  in  American 
hotels  and  railway  stations,  to  summon  hungry 
guests  to  their  meals. 

After  a  tour  of  several  cities  making  addresses 
on  China,  and  raising  some  money  for  the  school 
jn  Hong  Kong,  several  months  of  rest  were  de- 
lightfully enjoyed  in  Monson,  to  the  profit  of  all. 
Mr.  Brown  and  his  wife  impressed  their  neigh- 


no     A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

bors  and  townsmen  as  earnest  people,  living  with 
a  definite  aim  in  view  and  that  an  exalted  one. 
He  was  honored  as  the  consecrated  son  of  a  de- 
voted mother,  whose  ideas,  particularly  in  re- 
spect to  Christian  missions,  had  been  far  in  ad- 
vance of  those  of  her  generation.  As  oppor- 
tunity offered,  the  Christian  educator  spoke  to 
pleased  audiences  in  various  places  concerning 
China  and  the  Chinese.  The  Mexican  war  was 
at  this  time  occupying  public  attention,'  though 
only  a  few  could  then  see  that  its  issue,  in  the 
possession  of  California  by  the  United  States, 
would  be  the  direct  occasion  for  the  opening  of 
Japan  to  missionary  occupation,  and  to  the 
world's  commerce. 

Further  labors  in  distant  lands  had  been  pre- 
cluded by  his  wife's  health.  Until  it  was  fully 
restored  he  must  work  at  home.  He  looked 
now  to  Providence  to  open  a  door  of  usefulness 
and  service.  He  expected  to  settle  down  in  the 
pastorate,  but  the  Lord  opened  a  different  door 
and  bade  his  servant  enter.  It  was  on  this  wise. 
In  1848,  on  his  way  to  Chicago  to  seek  a  field, 
he  stopped  at  Rome,  N.  Y.,  to  visit  a  relative, 
and  there  all  unexpectedly  the  angel  of  oppor- 
tunity met  him,  stood  in  his  path,  and  showed 
him  new  areas  of  endeavor.  An  academy  of 
higher  learning  was  to  be  opened  in  the  town. 
A  principal  or  master  was  needed.  The  posi- 
tion was  offered  to  Mr.  Brown.  It  was  semper 
parattis   with   this    schoolmaster   from    abroad, 


At  Rome  Academy  1 1 1 

and  he  accepted.  He  took  his  Chinese  pupils 
with  him. 

"  Professor  "  Brown,  as  he  was  locally  called, 
began  at  once  the  work  of  organization  and 
teaching.  In  the  first  year  there  were  42  stu- 
dents taking  a  classical  course,  25  of  whom  were 
young  men  and  17  young  women.  In  English 
studies  there  were  231  registered,  loi  men  and 
130  women,  while  in  the  primary  department 
there  were  but  37,  making  a  total  of  310  who  at- 
tended during  the  first  year. 

A  majority  of  the  students  were  from  Rome, 
but  some  were  registered  from  Chicago,  111.; 
Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  Massachusetts,  and 
Michigan.  Nearly  every  town  of  Oneida 
County  had  its  representative.  Among  the 
students  was  Hon.  Lyman  J.  Gage,  former  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  of 
America. 

The  great  financier,  writing  April  17,  1902, 
says: 

"  I  remember  him  very  well  as  being  the 
head  of  the  academy  at  Rome,  N.  Y.,  in  about 
the  years  1852-53,  when  I  was  a  student  there. 
You  ask  my  impression  of  his  personality.  Al- 
though I  was  quite  young,  he  did  leave  a  very 
distinct  impression  upon  my  mind,  though  I  did 
not  come  close  enough  to  know  him  with  any  in- 
timacy; but  he  was  a  highly  refined,  cultivated 
gentleman  of  scholarly  attainments — that  was 
noted  everywhere.     This  was  received  and  ac- 


112      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

knowledged  by  all  the  students,  and  it  is  this  im- 
pression merely  that  I  have  carried  with  me 
through  the  years." 

A  correspondent  from  Rome  writes: 

"  The  old  Rome  Academy  was  at  this  time 
(1848),  a  private  institution  and  conducted  as 
such.  Inquiring  in  1901  I  could  find  only  one 
person,  who  remembered  Dr.  Brown  as  a  genial, 
warm-hearted  man  whose  influence  seemed  to 
be  always  on  the  right  side.  The  old  building 
had  a  life  covering  exactly  one-half  a  century,  and 
is  now  replaced  by  a  modern  twenty-five  room 
building  accommodating  something  over  six 
hundred  pupils." 

During  the  summer  vacations,  besides  journeys 
for  recreation  to  the  Eastern  States,  Mr.  Brown 
explored  the  delightful  lake  region  of  central 
New  York,  home  of  the  ancient  Iroquois  Con- 
federacy of  the  Six  Nations,  and  redolent  with 
their  poetry  and  lore.  Fond  of  the  study  of 
rocks  and  soils,  he  tramped  over  the  country, 
hammer  in  hand,  in  search  of  fossils  and  speci- 
mens. New  York  contains  "  the  Old  Testament 
of  geology,"  and  at  Trenton  Falls  the  book  is 
wide  open  and  the  pages  easily  read.  Here  he 
fed  his  imagination  and  filled  his  wallet  for  the 
enrichment  of  his  cabinet.  On  New  Year's 
Days  he  enjoyed  the  fine  old  Dutch-American 
custom  of  calling  on  his  friends,  on  one  occa- 
sion making  thirty-four  calls. 

After   three  years   of  service   at   Rome,   the 


At  Rome  Academy  113 

Academy,  as  then  conducted,  under  private 
ownership  and  direction,  not  proving  profitable, 
Professor  Brown  resigned  on  March  31,  185 1. 
He  turned  his  thoughts  to  the  great  West,  but 
his  Heavenly  Father  had  work  for  him  to  do 
even  nearer  home. 


The  Dutch  Domine  at  Owasco  Lake 


IX 
The  Dutch  Domine  at  Owasco  Lake 

IT  was  in  the  spring  of  185 1,  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  E.  Throop  Martin — 
fragrant  names — that  the  people  of  the  Re- 
formed Dutch  Church  of  Sand  Beach,  at  Owasco 
Outlet,  near  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  sent  a  call  to  Pro- 
fessor S.  R.  Brown,  whose  title  and  affectionate 
designation  was  henceforth,  as  became  the  pas- 
tor of  a  Reformed  (Dutch)  Church,  "  Domine."  * 
He  gladly  accepted,  for  he  had  longed  for  the 
pastorate  and  to  preach  steadily  the  gospel,  as  he 
had  done  at  Rome  occasionally. 

It  was  from  no  motives  of  earthly  ambition  or 
personal  ease  that  the  returned  missionary  was 
led  to  the  decision.  To  "  relieve  "  him  "  from 
worldly  cares  and  avocations,"  the  "  domine " 

*  Unfortunately  some  of  our  unrevised  and  very  in- 
correct dictionaries  still  keep  in  newspaper  use,  as  if  it 
were  correct,  either  as  Dutch  or  English,  the  purely 
Scottish  term  "  dominie,"  which  means  "  a  stickit 
minister,"  or  schoolmaster  only.  The  correct  term,  in 
unaltered  Latin,  for  the  regularly  ordained  and  in- 
stalled pastor  of  a  Reformed  Church  is  Domine.  The 
sinister  influence  of  the  ' '  printer's  devil "  in  American 
country  newspapers  is  sometimes  seen  in  their  printing 
even  our  Lord's  title  thus — "  Quo  Vadis,  Dominie  ?" 

117 


1 18      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

was  promised  a  salary  of  $230.50  and  expected 
to  call  to  resurrection  an  almost  dead  church, 
and  to  raise  the  money  for  a  new  house  of  wor- 
ship. In  one  sense,  indeed,  it  seemed  classic, 
even  idyllic,  to  live  near  Auburn,  "  loveliest  vil- 
lage of  the  plain,"  and  be  "  passing  rich  at  forty 
pounds  a  year." 

The  Browns  moved  to  Owasco  Lake  in  April, 
185 1,  and  the  domine  was  duly  installed  by  the 
ministers  of  the  Classis  of  Cayuga,  according  to 
the  impressive  forms  and  liturgy  of  the  Re- 
formed Church  in  America. 

To  insure  a  living  for  himself  and  family,  the 
domine  bought  a  farm  of  seventy  acres,  built  a 
large  house  upon  it  for  his  household,  and  re- 
solved to  carry  on  a  select  boys'  boarding  school 
with  pupils  limited  to  twenty-five.  For  this  pur- 
pose he  secured  the  Waring  farm,  now  Spring- 
side,  and  soon  his  splendid  abilities  as  a  leader 
and  organizer  were  shown  in  a  flourishing  school 
by  the  side  of  a  flourishing  church. 

In  a  word,  he  became  farmer,  teacher,  and 
preacher  in  one,  and  here  he  was  to  work  for 
eight  years. 

The  necessity  for  a  new  church  edifice  was 
soon  apparent.  The  wooden  structure  reared  by 
the  pioneers,  who  had  come  from  Gettysburg, 
Pa.,  and  from  New  Jersey,  was  nearly  a  half- 
century  old.  Besides  being  out  of  repairs  it  was 
too  small.  So  In  the  winter  of  1852-53,  Domine 
Brown  called  a  meeting  of  the  parish  to  consider 


THE  REFORMED  CHURCH  AT  OWASCO  OUTLET. 


■■^^*>f 


Dutch  Domine  at  Owasco  Lake  119 

what  could  be  done.  Under  his  encouragement, 
the  people  decided  to  rebuild  in  the  spring. 
Three  thousand  dollars  were  raised  for  the  pur- 
pose and  this  sum  was  increased  by  the  sale  of 
the  parsonage  property,  and  by  gifts  from 
friends.  He  wrote  to  a  New  Haven  architect 
for  plans,  specifications,  and  working  drawings 
for  an  edifice  in  brick  with  stained  glass  of  the 
Norman  Gothic  style,  with  bell  tower,  to  cost 
seven  thousand  dollars.  The  general  features 
were  planned  by  the  domine  himself.  The  con- 
tract was  given  out  July  5,  1854.  While  the 
pastor  gave  his  daily  attention  to  the  details  of 
the  rising  edifice,  his  wife  formed  the  Ladies' 
Sewing  Society,  which  provided  for  the  inside 
furnishing  of  the  building  and  the  comfort  of  the 
worshipers. 

On  July  26,  1855,  the  new  house  of  worship 
was  dedicated  with  fitting  ceremonies,  the  ser- 
mon being  by  the  Reverend  Professor  Samuel 
M.  Hopkins  of  Auburn  Theological  Seminary. 
He  had  been  a  classmate  of  S.  R.  Brown  at  Yale. 
He  lived  to  be  the  last  survivor  of  the  class  of 
1832. 

Domine  Brown  had  a  genius  for  friendship, 
for  raising  up  disciples,  and  firing  them  with  his 
own  enthusiasms.  Three  ladies  in  his  congre- 
gation afterwards  became  notably  connected 
with  the  modern  Christianization  of  Japan.  One 
was  Miss  Caroline  Adrian,  who  went  out  at  her 
own  charges  with  him  to  the  Mikado's  empire 


I20      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

in  1859,  in  the  hope  of  beginning  Christian  work 
among  the  native  women.  The  time  was  not, 
however,  yet  ripe  for  this,  and  she  was  disap- 
pointed in  being  unable  to  do  any  considerable 
work  in  the  Sunrise  Kingdom.  Afterwards  she 
joined  the  Reformed  Church  mission  at  Amoy, 
China,  where,  after  a  brief  season  of  labor,  she 
died  in  1863,  **  lamented  by  all  who  knew  her." 

Another  lady,  a  teacher  in  Mr.  Brown's 
school,  was  Miss  Mary  F.  Kidder,  the  daughter 
of  a  physician  in  Brooklyn.  In  August,  1869, 
she  went  to  Yokohama  and  thence  to  Niigata 
with  the  Browns.  She  was  the  first  unmarried 
lady  missionary  sent  directly  from  the  United 
States  to  Japan,  and  she  successfully  initiated 
female  education  in  the  Mikado's  empire. 
Later  she  married  the  Rev.  Edward  Rothesay 
Miller.  After  some  years  of  earnest  work  at 
Yokohama  and  in  Tokio  the  Millers  settled  for 
their  life  work  at  Morioka  in  the  northern  part 
of  Hondo,  or  the  main  island,  whence  in  1901 
they  wrote  biographical  reminiscences  of  Dr. 
S.  R.  Brown. 

Another  lady  was  Miss  Maria  Manyon,  who 
became  the  wife  of  Dr.  Guido  F.  Verbeck,  as  is 
shown  in  the  biography  of  "  Verbeck  of  Japan  " 
— that  work  being  dedicated  by  the  author  to 
her. 

Glimpses  of  the  domine's  life  of  sunny  toil  on 
the  shores  of  lovely  Owasco  are  afforded  by 
some  now  in  mature  life,  who  were  then  youths 


Dutch  Domine  at  Owasco  Lake    121 

growing  up  under  his  loving  care.  One  lady  at 
Phelps,  N.  Y.,  recalls  his  mild  and  pleasant  man- 
ners and  his  genial  and  warm-hearted  ways  with 
his  people  at  Springside. 

Another  tells  of  his  impassioned  eloquence  in 
the  sermons  at  the  morning  church  services  and 
in  the  afternoons  at  the  schoolhouses,  as  he 
urged  men  to  accept  Christ  as  their  Saviour. 

Another  writes  of  his  being  very  practical  in 
his  habits.  He  was  as  wise-hearted  as  Bezaleel, 
the  Phoenician  artificer  in  Hebrew  employ,  or  as 
he  "  who  rounded  Peter's  dome,"  for  "  Himself 
from  God  he  could  not  free."  He  helped  around 
the  house  in  papering  or  painting  a  room.  If 
he  did  not  like  the  paper,  he  would  decorate  the 
room  to  suit  himself.  As  Dr.  Yung  Wing  says 
of  him,  "  He  was  as  skillful  in  constructing  a 
piece  of  mechanism  as  in  penning  a  sermon.  In 
all  things  the  domine  was  a  student  and  master 
of  the  graces  of  life,  and  a  man  of  taste  and  re- 
finement. Not  infrequently  he  enjoyed  the  so- 
ciety of  Auburn,  of  the  theological  professors 
and  the  families  of  the  Seminary  household,  and 
occasionally  that  of  the  brilliant  political  lights 
that  gathered  in  the  home  of  William  H.  Seward, 
afterwards  United  States  Senator,  Secretary  of 
State,  and  traveler  round  the  world,  whose  au- 
dience with  the  Mikado  in  Tokio  in  1870  gave 
the  precedent  for  all  foreign  guests  thereafter." 

With  a  lifelong  passion  for  music,  he  played 
the  piano,  organ,  and  violin,  and  composed  not 


122      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

a  little.  At  church,  when  the  organist  was  ab- 
sent, the  domine  would  come  down  from  the  pul- 
pit, play  the  hymns  on  the  melodeon  at  one  side 
of  the  pulpit,  and  then  return  to  preach. 

As  the  changeful  surface  of  the  blue  lake's 
mirror,  that  reflected  alike  the  colors  of  dawn 
and  sunset  and  the  trailing  cloud  shadows,  so 
varied  the  life  at  Springside.  News  of  his 
father's  decease  on  December  29,  1853,  came  to 
him  after  the  close  of  a  school  term.  Timothy 
H.  Brown,  the  beloved  parent,  made  a  verbal 
will  the  night  before  his  departure,  leaving 
among  other  gifts  one  hundred  dollars  to  the 
American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions.  After  this  bereavement  his  widow, 
Phoebe  Hinsdale  Brown,  came  to  live  in  the 
home  of  her  son  at  Owasco  Outlet. 

As  educator,  pastor,  friend,  or  neighbor,  Rob- 
bins  Brown  was  always  fond  of  fun  and  jokes. 
From  childhood  to  old  age,  sunny  mirth  light- 
ened much  toil.  One  incident  which  furnished 
the  domine  with  one  of  the  many  stories  of  early 
clerical  life  was  of  a  couple  that  came  to  his 
home  to  be  married.  After  the  ceremony  the 
groom  came  up  and  gave  the  minister  seventy- 
five  cents,  and  then  stood  as  if  waiting  for  some- 
thing. When  asked  if  there  was  anything  else 
he  wished  to  say,  the  new-made  husband  stam- 
mered out,  "  Well,  I  did  not  know  but  there  was 
some  change  a-comin'."  Evidently  he  expected 
to  get  the  job  done  for  "  five  shillin',"  or  sixty- 


Dutch  Domine  at  Owasco  Lake    123 

two  and  a  half  cents.  This  was  almost  equal  to 
another  fellow  Benedict,  who  on  receiving  his 
bride  asked  the  parson: 

"How  much  is  it?" 

"  What  do  you  mean?  "  asked  the  man  of  the 
white  necktie. 

"  I  mean  how  much  do  you  charge  for  the 
job  of  marrying  us?  " 

"  Oh,  I  have  no  regular  charge,  but  the  law 
allows  me  two  dollars." 

"  Oh,  then,  if  that's  the  case,"  blurted  out  the 
fellow  quickly,  *'  here's  fifty  cents.  That  makes 
two  dollars  and  a  half,"  and  he  threw  down  a  half 
dollar  and  left. 

In  the  report  to  the  Classis  of  Domine  Brown's 
last  year  at  Sand  Beach,  1859,  ^^e  figures  show 
the  high-water  mark  of  the  church  records,  that 
is,  260  members  of  the  congregation,  of  whom 
120  were  communicants,  with  130  young  people 
in  the  three  grades  of  the  Sunday  School. 

Of  the  work  of  Mrs.  Brown  and  those  women 
"  who  labored  in  the  gospel "  with  their  hands, 
then  and  later,  in  the  Sewing  Society,  it  has  been 
written : 

"  Many  a  pastor,  many  an  outgoing  mission- 
ary, many  a  struggling  church  in  the  West,  many 
a  soldier  of  the  rebellion,  many  a  needy  family  at 
home  has  seen  the  result  of  the  society's  efforts 
with  the  needle,  while  considerable  sums  of 
money  have  been  raised  by  it  and  devoted  to 
like  objects  of  benevolence.' 


» 


124      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

He  wrote  later :  "  These  were  the  most  labori- 
ous, wearing  years  of  my  life.  I  never  asked  the 
people  of  my  parish  to  increase  my  salary,  but  I 
began  at  once  to  call  upon  them  for  benevojent 
purposes,  such  as  domestic  and  foreign  mis- 
sions.'* He  soon  found  that  to  make  people 
help  themselves,  there  is  nothing  like  awaken- 
ing in  them  a  hearty  interest  in  helping  others. 
His  policy  was  as  the  River  of  Heaven  upon  soil 
barren  because  of  dryness.  New  life  and  energy 
marked  the  congregation.  Instead  of  depend- 
ence upon  the  Home  Missionary  Society,  the 
church  was  soon  raised  to  a  condition  of  self-sup- 
port, and  even  to  the  ability  of  contributing 
from  one  to  four  hundred  dollars  yearly  to  the 
benevolences  of  the  Reformed  Church  in 
America. 


A  Pioneer  in  Woman's  Higher  Edu- 
cation 


X 

A   Pioneer   in    Woman's    Higher 

Education 

SAMUEL  R.  BROWN  was  a  pioneer  edu- 
cator in  three  lands.  One  of  the  first 
men  to  beHeve  in  a  first-class  academic 
education  for  girls,  he  worked  hard  to  secure 
also  a  woman's  college  in  central  New  York. 
Indeed,  how  could  he  help  following  in  the  faith 
of  his  mother?  This,  strong  even  in  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  was  as  a  dayspring  of  the  long, 
bright  morning  that  has  opened  upon  Vassar, 
Wellesley,  Smith,  Holyoke,  and  Bryn  Mawr. 
With  the  name  of  Mary  Lyons  should  be  writ- 
ten that  of  Phoebe  Hinsdale  Brown. 

The  records  show  that  the  initiatory  move- 
ment for  the  founding  of  Elmira  College,  the 
first  woman's  college  chartered  as  such,  was  at 
Albany  in  the  year  1851,  in  the  consistory  room 
of  the  Second  Reformed  Dutch  Church.  They 
also  show  that  Rev.  Samuel  Robbins  Brown  was 
one  of  the  incorporators,  chairman  of  the  first 
executive  committee,  active  in  securing  a  site, 
in  drawing  up  the  curriculum,  and  in  securing 
funds.     At  first  Auburn  was  thought  of  as  the 

Z27 


128      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

proper  location,  but  Elmira  was  finally  decided 
upon. 

Those  who  founded  Elmira  College  were  pio- 
neers bravely  clearing  a  new  pathway  in  an  un- 
trodden territory.  For  many  years  there  was  no 
clear  apprehension  of  the  real  worth  and  the  best 
work  done  at  Elmira. 

Yet  just  as  surely  as  Harvard  College,  founded 
by  a  few  Congregational  ministers  at  Newtown, 
Mass.,  in  1636,  gave  the  precedent  and  opened 
a  new  era  of  education  in  North  America,  so  the 
first  chartered  woman's  college  in  America,  at 
Newtown,  N.  Y.  (the  ancient  name  of  Elmira 
and  in  use  until  1828),  set  the  mark,  and  set  it 
high,  for  the  wonderful  development  of  woman's 
education  in  America. 

Both  name  and  site  were  significant  of  decisive 
events  in  history,  which  opened  new  eras  of 
progress.  Before  a  white  man  had  settled  in  the 
Chemung  Valley,  or  Elmira  received  its  name, 
there  was  an  Indian  village  where  the  future 
city  was  to  arise,  and  hard  by  was  the  New 
Town  of  the  Iroquois  Indians.  Here,  on  the 
29th  of  August,  1779,  was  fought  the  decisive 
battle  of  civilization  against  savagery  by  Gen- 
eral John  Sullivan  and  his  four  brigades  of  Con- 
tinentals, from  New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey, 
New  York,  and  Pennsylvania,  which  shattered 
to  pieces  the  Iroquois  Confederacy  of  the  Six 
Nations.  This  victory  opened  the  lake  country 
and  the  western  half  of  the  Empire  State  to  the 


Woman's  Higher  Education       129 

settlement  of  white  men.  The  Newtown  battle 
of  1779,  the  red  man's  Culloden,  knocked  the  In- 
dian's clan  system  to  pieces.  How  appropriate, 
in  poetic  justice,  that  the  system  that  doomed 
the  squaw  to  hopeless  drudgery  under  the  reign 
of  savage  force  should  receive  its  deathblow  in 
the  very  place  where  the  crown  jewel  of  Chris- 
tian civilization — the  higher  education  of  woman 
— should  first  sparkle!  The  Empire  State,  in 
which  was  opened  the  first  public  school  in 
America,  on  Manhattan  Island,  again  gave  noble 
precedents  to  the  nation,  first  in  Elmira  and  later 
in  Vassar  College. 

We  read  that  on  June  20,  1854,  Elmira  being 
chosen  as  the  site.  Rev.  S.  R.  Brown  was  re- 
elected chairman,  and  Mr.  Simeon  Benjamin 
treasurer.  The  latter  proved  a  generous  bene- 
factor, giving  in  all  to  the  college  eighty  thou- 
sand dollars. 

In  April,  1855,  the  charter  was  amended  and 
the  name  changed  to  "  Elmira  Female  College." 
Later,  in  harmony  with  the  other  American  col- 
leges for  women,  the  word  "  female "  was 
dropped,  and  the  name  Elmira  College  adopted. 

It  was  a  great  joy  to  Phoebe  Hinsdale  Brown, 
poet  and  dreamer,  yet  one  of  the  most  practical 
of  women,  and  mother  of  the  pioneer  educator 
in  China,  to  see  Elmira  College  and  her  grand- 
daughter a  student  within  its  walls.  She  paid  a 
visit  to  the  college,  grateful  to  God  that  she  had 
not  died  without  such  a  sight.     The  hope  and 


130      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

faith  of  long  years  had  at  last  been  crowned  by 
the  sight  of  a  woman's  college  which  still  chal- 
lenges honorable  comparison  with  the  wealthier 
colleges  for  women,  in  the  fullness  of  its  required 
course  of  study,  in  the  excellence  and  thorough- 
ness of  instruction,  and  in  the  scholarship  of  its 
graduates.  Domine  Brown's  interest  remained 
warm  and  constant,  until  his  preparations  for 
going  to  Japan  had  to  be  made. 

Human  history  is  usually  dictated  by  success- 
ful precedents,  which  become  examples.  It  was 
Pilgrim  grit  and  tenacity  in  Plymouth  Colony, 
issuing  in  assured  success,  that  led  the  Puritans 
to  cross  the  sea  with  wealth,  learning,  and  social 
power,  to  begin  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony 
and  State.  Did  the  demonstrated  success  of 
Elmira  influence  Matthew  Vassar  to  his  own 
noble  enterprise  at  Poughkeepsie? 

This  work  in  the  interests  of  the  higher  edu- 
cation of  American  women  was  done  amid  the 
national  excitements  just  before  the  Civil  War, 
when  the  country  was  convulsed  with  the  slavery 
agitation  and  thousands  were  in  intense  anxiety 
over  the  safety  of  the  union  of  States,  and  amid 
a  round  of  toil  that  would  have  discouraged 
many  a  man.  Lest  this  seem  too  strongly  stated, 
let  us  look  at  one  of  the  letters  of  his  mother,  at 
this  time  supported  by  her  loving  son  in  his 
home. 

She  is  writing  at  the  school  at  Owasco  Lake 
Outlet,    in   which    are   twenty-five   boys.      She 


Woman's  Higher  Education       131 

pictures  a  specimen  Sabbath,  early  in  December, 
1857,  which  shows  what  her  son  was  doing: 

"  At  six  in  the  morning  held  the  family  prayer 
meeting,  which  a  few  of  the  boys  attended. 
After  breakfast  had  family  worship.  I  then  sat 
down  in  my  room  to  study  the  Bible  lesson. 
(He  has  a  Bible  class  of  his  pupils  on  Sabbath 
afternoons,  and  is  going  through  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles;  uniting  historical,  geographical, 
and  religious  instruction  in  his  teaching.)  Went 
to  church  at  1 1  a.  m.  He  preached  on  *  The  Love 
of  God  in  Christ':  *  God  commendeth  his  love 
toward  us,'  etc.  Returned  home  at  one.  At  3 
p.  M.  he  taught  the  Bible  class  from  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles.  Gave  the  boys  an  affectionate  and 
solemn  talk.  Attended  family  worship — took 
tea — and  went  up  the  east  side  of  the  lake,  about 
six  miles,  to  visit  a  dying  member  of  the  church, 
and  preached  to  an  audience  of  150  on  'The 
Conversion  of  Zaccheus.'  To-day,  Monday,  he 
looks  tired,  but  he  said  to  me :  *  I  had  rather  try 
to  save  souls  than  to  be  the  emperor  of  the  Rus- 
sias. 

How  grandly  has  the  lake  country  in  central 
New  York  become  a  great  missionary  and  edu- 
cational area,  more  especially  since  S.  R.  Brown 
enriched  its  borders  with  an  academy  and  col- 
lege! When  the  nineteenth  century  opened 
the  Auburn  Theological  School — started  as 
Congregational,  and  still  leavened  by  the  free 
spirit  of  inquiry  that  makes  it  the  Union  Semi- 


132       A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

nary  of  central  New  York — had,  besides  Hobart 
College,  and  a  few  academies  and  elementary 
schools  of  fair  repute,  indeed  been  started. 
Now  nearly  every  one  of  the  lake  cities,  towns,  or 
villages  has  its  high  school,  academy,  or  col- 
lege, all  of  them  led  by  the  most  typical  modem 
American  University,  Cornell,  which  at  Ithaca 
crowns  the  heights  of  Lake  Cayuga.  One  may 
look  with  pride  upon  the  Universities  of  Roch- 
ester and  Syracuse,  upon  the  schools  of  various 
grades  and  disciplines  on  Cayuga,  Seneca, 
Owasco,  Onondaga,  Oneida,  Cazenovia,  and 
Keuka  lakes,  whence  has  issued  a  mighty  host 
of  men  and  women  grandly  equipped  to  do  the 
world's  work.  In  the  ranks  of  the  missionary 
soldiers  and  workers  the  list  of  honored  names 
from  New  York's  lake  region  is  a  long  and  shin- 
ing one,  as  notable  for  the  talents  and  consecra- 
tion and  results  wrought  as  for  its  length. 
From  Domine  Kirkland,  missionary  to  the 
Oneida  Indians,  pioneer  and  founder  of  Hamil- 
ton College,  to  Parker  and  Marcus  Whitman  on 
Pacific  slope  land,  to  Brown,  Verbeck,  and 
Nevius  beyond  seas,  to  the  first  Ramabai  circle 
founded  at  Cornell,  to  the  Students'  Volunteer 
movement,  the  record  is  a  noble  one. 

Grand  as  was  Domine  Brown's  toil  at  Owasco 
Outlet,  his  work  was  to  be  even  more  glorious 
in  a  new  land  across  the  Pacific. 

Again  was  he  to  taste  the  glorious  freedom  of 
a  foreign  missionary,  to  toil  indeed  amid  the 


Woman's  Higher  Education       133 

sights  and  sounds  of  uncanny  heathenism,  but 
to  be  rid  of  what  many  pastors  have  to  struggle 
against — the  hypocrisy,  the  selfishness,  the 
worldliness  of  nominal  Christianity  at  home,  and 
to  be  free  of  the  cantankerous  church  officers 
who  will  rule  or  wreck.  Like  Verbeck,  Robbins 
Brown  gloried  in  the  unique  freedom  and  superb 
opportunity  of  the  missionary.  His  was  the 
spirit  of  "  Childe  Roland,"  as  Browning  pictures 
him,  as  he  *'  to  the  dark  tower  came." 


Ho  for  Japan! 


XI 

Ho  for  Japan  ! 

HOW  the  Reformed  (Dutch)  Church  in 
America  determined  to  plant  a  gospel 
mission  among  the  hermit  people,  whose 
doors  Matthew  Perry  and  Townsend  Harris  had 
persuaded  them  to  open,  has  been  told  in  "  Ver- 
beck  of  Japan."  Happily  it  was  the  angel  of  the 
olive  branch,  and  not  of  sulphurous  war,  that  had 
persuaded  the  Japanese  to  do  this,  and  thus  again 
attract  Robbins  Brown  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
At  nearly  fifty  years  of  age  many  men  would 
have  shrunk  from  entering  an  unknown  and 
untried  field  like  that  of  Japan,  but  Samuel  R. 
Brown  had  the  spirit  of  a  pioneer  and  leader. 
He  was  probably  the  very  first  to  receive  appoint- 
ment as  an  American  missionary  to  Japan.  Both 
the  American  Episcopal  and  Presbyterian  mis- 
sionaries preceded  him;  in  actual  arrival  on  the 
ground,  though  he  had  urged  his  church  to  be 
first.  In  his  letter  of  application,  dated  Spring- 
side,  December  ii,  1858,  he  expressed  himself 
as  ready  for  either  China  or  Japan,  as  the  Board 
might  direct.  Further,  he  believed  in  "  the  reflex 
influence  of  missions."  Hear  him  as  he  closes 
his  letter: 

X37 


138      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

"  I  think  my  going  abroad  would  benefit  the 
Church  here  more  than  my  stay.  It  would  be 
a  trial  to  an  affectionate  people  to  part  with  their 
pastor,  but,  if  I  mistake  not,  it  would  open  their 
hearts  and  purse  strings  in  favor  of  the  mis- 
sionary work  not  a  little." 

After  returning  from  China,  in  1847,  Mr. 
Brown  had  hoped  to  go  back  to  his  work  there 
in  two  years,  but  the  health  of  his  wife  would  not 
then  permit.  As  soon  as  her  health  was  settled, 
came  the  agitation  consequent  upon  Commodore 
Perry's  treaty  with  Japan,  and  later  the  deter- 
mination of  the  Reformed  (Dutch)  Church  in 
America  to  plant  a  mission  in  Japan,  as  already 
told  in  "  Verbeck  of  Japan." 

Appointed  senior  missionary,  with  Rev.  Guido 
F.  Verbeck  and  Dr.  Duane  B.  Simmons,  Domine 
Brown  visited  some  of  the  churches,  especially 
those  in  the  Classis  of  Cayuga,  and  also  the 
Theological  Seminary  at  New  Brunswick^  N.  J., 
to  rouse  missionary  zeal  and  provide  for  re-en- 
forcements. He  sailed  with  his  wife  and  two 
daughters  on  the  ship  Surprise  from'  New  York 
May  7,  1859.  From  a  letter  which  he  sent  to 
the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Reformed 
Church  when,  **  within  a  week's  sail  of  Java 
Head,"  we  learn  the  character  of  the  crew  and 
the  daily  routine  of  the  voyage.  The  eighteen 
passengers  had  been  eleven  weeks  out. 

No  profanity  was  heard  on  the  ship  and  on 
Sundays  almost  all  the  crew  with  the  passengers 


<1 
w 

H 
O 

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td 
o 

o 


o 
:z: 

TO 


00 

en 

CO 


Ho  for  Japan  !  139 

attended  divine  service,  with  preaching  on  the 
quarter-deck.  At  7  p.  m.  family  worship  in  the 
cabin,  with  Scripture  reading,  singing,  and 
prayer,  closed  each  day. 

Seasickness  over,  a  plan  of  daily  work  was 
laid  out.  No  English-speaking  person,  it  must 
be  remembered,  could  at  that  time  read  a  Japanese 
book.  A  class  in  Japanese,  meeting  at  9  a.  m. 
was  started,  of  which  Mr.  Brown  was  made  head. 
The  books  on  hand  were  a  small  vocabulary  and 
work  on  botany.  At  the  end  of  the  voyage  250 
Japanese  words  had  been  learned  by  heart  and 
he  was  able  to  write  according  to  the  katakanu, 
or  syllabary  of  "  square  "  characters,  numbering 
about  fifty.  The  mastery  of  hira-kana,  or  run- 
ning script  of  the  same  number  of  signs,  but 
with  apparently  infinite  variety  of  form  and 
vagaries  of  private  penmanship,  making  prac- 
tically several  systems,  was  to  be  the  work  of 
years. 

Mr.  Verbeck  taught  the  gentlemen  Dutch, 
so  they  could  talk  a  little  and  read  more  in  that 
language.  This  was  a  necessity,  since  the  one 
medium  of  European  culture  and  language  of 
communication  with  Western  people  employed 
by  the  Japanese  was  the  language  of  the  Nether- 
lands. 

Fun  and  recreation  were  not  forgotten. 
Domine  Brown  had  the  divine  gift  of  humor. 
For  five  weeks  they  kept  up  a  weekly  ship's  news- 
paper called  The  Main  Sheet,  which  was  read  on 


140      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

Saturdays,  furnishing  much  merriment.  On  the 
Fourth  of  July  a  grand  celebration  was  enjoyed. 
The  ship  was  decked  with  colors,  salutes  were 
fired,  and  an  oration  on  deck  by  "  the  elder 
domine "  was  delivered.  A  grand  procession, 
fore  and  aft,  with  banners,  was  followed  by  a 
good  dinner.  Fireworks,  charades,  and  music 
filled  up  the  evening,  making  a  very  patriotic 
day  afloat. 

A  thousand  questions  arose  in  the  mind  of 
Robbins  Brown  as,  now  the  senior  pioneer  for 
the  second  time^  he  mused  on  the  problem  of 
the  future.  He  was  to  hew  his  own  way  through 
difficulties,  for  he  had  been  sent  uninstructed  to 
found  a  new  mission.  Where  should  he  locate, 
at  Nagasaki  or  Kanagawa?  Twenty-one  years 
before,  he  and  his  bride  had  sailed  over  these 
seas  bound  to  China.  Now  retracing  his  way  to 
the  Far  East,  he  was  about  to  enter  a  newer  and 
more  uncertain  field  of  labor  than  ever  China 
was.  "  Is  it  possible,  I  ask  myself,"  he  wrote, — 
"  is  it  possible  that  we  are  really  missionaries 
again,  bound  to  China,  to  pass  on  beyond  to  the 
most  distant  empire  on  the  globe.  .  .  We  are 
thankful  that  God  in  his  sovereign  pleasure  saw 
fit  to  honor  us  with  this  mission." 

Seeking  the  Far  East  along  the  same  old  route, 
through  the  straits  of  Sunda,  they  arrived  July 
2jy  at  Anjer  in  Java — the  port  of  call  so  long 
familiar  to  voyagers  to  China,  but  under  the 
waves  since  the  Krakatoa  eruption  of  1883.    The 


Ho  for  Japan  !  141 

ship  got  aground  in  the  Straits  of  Banka,  and 
they  had  to  wait  six  days  for  the  spring  tide  to 
float  them  off.  Reaching  Hong  Kong  August 
23,  108  days  from  New  York,  they  received  news 
of  the  British  reverse  of  May  28,  1858,  at  the 
Peiho  forts  in  the  far  north,  when  our  own 
Commodore  Tatnall,  in  dashing  forward  to  help 
the  British  wounded,  with  his  surgeons,  uttered 
the  ever  memorable  words,  "  Blood  is  thicker 
than  water."  Dr.  S.  Wells  Williams,  Brown's 
old  friend,  was  on  the  U.  S.  S.  S.  Minnesota,  off 
the  Peiho,  where  thirty  vessels  of  the  four 
Powers  were  gathered.  He  saw  the  battle, 
which  was  more  exciting  than  the  one  which  he 
and  his  friend  Brown  had  seen  in  August,  1839, 
at  the  Barrier  Forts  near  Canton.  Dr.  Williams' 
letter  was  finished  at  Tientsin,  which  he  reached 
May  30.  He  saw  a  beautiful  landscape  under 
highest  cultivation,  its  lively  green  contrasting 
with  the  hovels  of  the  people,  whose  persons  and 
clothes  were  much  less  attractive  than  those  of 
the  Chinese  further  south.  Very  different  was 
this  coming  into  North  China  from  that  of  Gutz- 
laff  in  1 83 1.  Rev.  E.  W.  Syle,  another  old 
friend  of  Mr.  Brown,  was  also  on  board  the 
American  man-of-war  as  the  guest  of  his  relative 
Captain  Dupont,  afterward  rear  admiral. 

China,  as  seen  the  second  time,  was  not  wholly 
a  land  of  strangers,  for  the  Master  had  many 
more  disciples  in  1859  than  when  Robbins  Brown 
had  landed,  nearly  twenty  years  before,  in  the 


142      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

Middle  Kingdom.  On  going  ashore,  one  of  the 
first  friends  he  met  was  his  former  pupil  Dr. 
Wong,  who  gave  him  an  inside  view  of  politics. 
He  explained  that  the  Chinese  emperor  did  not 
wish  to  keep  off  ambassadors  from  Peking,  but 
that  the  imperial  purpose,  in  refortifying  and 
obstructing  the  Peiho,  was  to  keep  out  pirates. 
He  wanted  his  British  friends  to  go  to  Peking  by 
another  way,  but  they  refused  and  hence  the 
battle  and  disaster. 

Thus  each  time  of  Mr.  Brown's  arrival  in 
China  was  a  time  of  war.  Naturally  foreigners 
were  excited  and  some  were  afraid.  Hearing 
of  a  missionary  who  talked  of  sending  back  his 
wife,  Mr.  Brown  wrote :  "  None  of  these  things 
move  me.  .  .  It  would  be  cowardice  to  stop  short 
of  the  summit  and  take  council  of  your  fears.'* 
Looking  toward  Japan,  he  thought  the  Japanese 
might  be  alarmied  at  the  sudden  rush  of  traders 
into  the  open  ports,  since  commerce  with  other 
nations,  after  the  long  and  almost  entire  ex- 
clusion of  aliens  from  their  shores,  was  so  new 
and  strange  to  them.  He  was  all  the  more 
heartened  for  his  Japan  work  by  meeting  his 
Chinese  pupils  and  seeing  what  steadfast  Chris- 
tians they  proved  to  be  and  how  useful  they  had 
made  themselves.  Another  one  of  his  former 
boys,  whom  he  had  taken  to  the  United  States 
in  1847,  "ow  thirty-three  years  old,  was  in  charge 
of  the  mission  press  in  Hong  Kong.  Rev.  Dr 
Chalmers,  colleague  of  Dr.  J.  Legge,  said  of  him, 


Ho  for  Japan  143 

*'  He  is  the  best  Chinese  in  the  region."  Yung 
Wing,  who  had  been  graduated  with  high  honors 
from  Yale  in  1854,  was  another  shining  hght  in 
the  new  China.  As  the  biographer  concludes 
this  chapter,  in  June,  1902,  Dr.  Yung  Wing  is 
again  on  the  soil  of  America, 

Of  Dr.  Wong,  his  pupil  who  had  studied 
medicine  in  Scotland,  and  who  was  in  charge  of 
the  London  Society^s  Hospital  in  Hong  Kong, 
Mr.  E.  H.  Parker,  in  his  lively  book  entitled 
"  John  Chinaman,"  has  written  to  the  extent  of 
two  pages,  praising  him  very  highly,  but  omitting 
to  mention  that  he  was  Dr.  Brown's  pupil !  One 
must  read  Mr.  Parker's  sketch  to  see  how  funny 
the  so-called  "  Agnostic  "  can  be. 

From  Amoy,  his  brethren  of  the  Reformed 
Church  mission,  Messrs.  Doty  and  Rappleje, 
wrote,  sending  greetings  and  cheer.  It  was 
voted  that  Mr.  Brown  should  be  treasurer  of  the 
mission. 

After  reaching  Shanghai,  where  four  days 
were  spent,  the  missionary  families  were  left 
under  the  care  of  Rev.  E.  W.  Syle.  Mr.  Verbeck 
went  to  Nagasaki.  Dr.  Simimons,  Mr.  Frank 
Hall,  and  S.  R.  Brown,  in  the  American  bark 
Mary  Louisa,  set  sail  toward  the  Land  Where 
the  Day  Begins,  to  reach  Yokohama,  the  mush- 
room port  of  yesterday  in  Everlasting  Great 
Japan. 

It  will  be  seen  that  Domine  Brown  had  superb 
preparations  for  life  and  work  in  Japan.     He 


144      ^  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

had  a  fair  knowledge  of  the  ideographs  of  the 
Chinese,  and  was  familiar  with  much  of  their 
literature.  This  meant  ability  and  preparation 
to  read  Japanese  also.  What  in  the  long  run 
was  better,  even  than  a  knowledge  of  Japanese 
language  as  spoken,  was  the  mastery  and  famil- 
iarity with  the  molds  of  thought  and  the  liter- 
ary phrases,  ideas,  and  allusions  with  which  the 
Japanese,  after  fifteen  hundred  years  of  steady 
borrowing  from  China,  had  saturated  their  litera- 
ture. Dr.  J.  C.  Hepburn  had  had  a  similar, 
though  not  so  thorough  an  experience. 

But  to  think  of  learning  such  a  language  as 
Japanese,  which  has  almost  no  analogies  with 
European  tongues,  without  trained  teachers  or 
apparatus  of  mastery!     Years  ago  I  wrote: 

"  Did  you  ever  try  to  leap  through  a  wall,  or 
pump  water  out  of  a  deep  well  with  no  apparatus, 
or  make  bricks  without  molds  or  straw?  I 
knew  a  negro  with  a  weak  stomach  for  whisky 
and  an  amazing  thickness  of  skull,  who  would 
allow  rude  fellows  to  rap  his  noddle  with  a 
hickory  ax-handle  for  the  sake  of  a  dram. 
Something  like  any  one  of  the  four  processes 
above  mentioned  is  the  learning  of  an  Asiatic 
language  when  there  are  no  grammars,  diction- 
aries, or  trained  teachers.  You  must  butt  the 
opposing  wall,  pump  the  supposed  receptacle  of 
knowledge,  shape  your  bricks  of  theory  as  you 
can,  and  suffer  many  a  rap  of  mistake  and  dis- 
couragement." 


Life  in  a  Buddhist  Temple  at  Kanagawa 


XII 
Life  in  a  Buddhist  Temple  at  Kanagawa 

ALL  had  dreaded  "  the  stormy  Japanese 
seas,"  against  which  foreign  tradition, 
^  woeful  experience,  and  Chinese  poetry 
were  one  in  indictment,  but  the  nine  days'  journey 
was  over  tranquil  seas,  and  on  November  3, 
1859,  anchor  was  cast  at  Kanagawa  and  the  three 
"  religious  invaders  "  set  foot  on  shore. 

Yokohama  of  1859  was  a  narrow  strip  of 
land,  extending  from  Benten  to  the  canal  since 
cut  through,  two  hundred  yards  wide  at  the 
northern  end  and  fifty  yards  wide  at  the  southern 
end.  All  else  was  marsh  often  covered  with 
water,  and  fishing  boats  were  sometimes  seen  on 
what  is  now  the  larger  part  of  a  city  of  two 
hundred  thousand  people.  Fourteen  vessels  lay 
in  the  harbor,  including  the  U.  S.  S.  S.  Pow- 
hatan and  a  British  man-of-war.  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
J.  C.  Hepburn,  missionaries  of  the  American 
Presbyterian  Church,  were  already  on  the 
ground.  In  years  before  these  pioneers  in  Japan 
had  been  fellow  workers  at  Macao.  Now  they 
"  met  again  in  this  strange  and  newly  opened 
country  as  laborers  in  the  same  cause." 

The  newcomers  were  welcomed  by  the  U.  S. 

147 


148      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

consul,  General  Door,  who  had  already  procured 
a  Buddhist  temple  for  these  new  guests  of  the 
empire. 

It  seems  curious  that  the  Japanese  should  so 
readily  lend  their  temples  as  residences  to  for- 
eigners, but  so  they  did,  for  even  then  these  canny 
islanders  loved  lucre,  and  they  love  it  more  now. 
Indeed  they  are  in  the  world's  race  for  dollars. 
The  idols,  tables,  temple  furniture,  incense  burn- 
ers, and  what-not  had  been  stowed  away  in  a 
recess  beside  the  main  altar  and  shut  up  there  in 
darkness  and  disuse  by  a  board  partition.  This 
was  to  be  so  long  as  the  "  hairy  foreigners  " 
should  occupy  the  building.  Outside  of  the  main 
edifice  was  the  building  for  the  priests  who  had 
gone  elsewhere  to  live,  though  an  old  bonze — 
almost  a  bronze  in  color — ninety  years  old,  still 
dwelt  in  an  adjoining  house.  General  Door,  the 
consul,  was  also  a  tenant  of  a  temple  in  a  most 
picturesque  spot  on  a  hill  surrounded  by  trees 
and  shrubbery. 

In  his  first  walk  Mr.  Brown,  fresh  from  his 
farm  on  Owasco  Lake,  noticed  peas,  turnips,  and 
buckwheat  growing  in  patches  near  each  other. 
He  believed  that  what  the  Americans  call 
"  Irish  "  and  the  Japanese  "  Dutch  "  or  "  Java  " 
potatoes  would  grow  easily  there.  The  fish  in 
the  markets  was  most  excellent.  Fowls  and 
eggs  were  plentiful,  but  meat,  other  than  poultry, 
was  difficult  to  get.  Native  wheat  flour,  though 
far  from  snow-white,  was  good  and  cheap.    He 


o 

td 
o 


ID 

W 
O 


Life  in  a  Buddhist  Temple        149 

began  at  once  with  the  help  of  native  carpenters 
to  transform  a  Buddhist  temple,  which  consists 
chiefly  of  a  section  of  all  outdoors  with  a  roof  on, 
into  the  semblance  of  a  dwelling  house.  It  was 
while  thus  working  that  he  rushed  out,  like 
Archimedes,  to  Dr.  Hepburn,  one  day  announcing 
that  he  had  discovered  the  future  tense.  He 
soon  learned  also  what  earthquakes  were.  Some 
months  later  his  teacher  told  him  in  detail  and 
with  many  a  graphic  touch,  of  his  experiences  of 
the  great  earthquake  in  Yedo  in  1854,  by  which, 
popularly  and  in  tradition,  "  one  hundred  thou- 
sand "  and  in  reality  about  ten  thousand  people 
were  actually  killed. 

All  this  was  very  horrible,  but  there  were  com- 
pensations. It  is  alleged  that  more  people  lose 
their  lives  in  the  United  States  in  one  year  by 
lightning  than  are  killed  by  earthquakes  in 
Japan. 

The  Japanese  embassy  to  ratify  the  Harris 
treaty  with  the  United  States  was  nearly  ready. 
On  November  2  Commodore  Tatnall  told  Dr. 
Brown  that  in  three  days  he  would  go  up  to 
Yedo  in  the  Powhatan  and  take  the  embassy  to 
Washington.  Nevertheless,  as  Japan  is  the 
"  Land  of  Approximate  Time,"  the  motley  com- 
pany of  seventy-one  persons  did  not  get  off  until 
February  13,  i860. 

On  March  6,  at  invitation  of  Minister  Harris, 
with  U.  S.  Consul  E.  M.  Door  and  attended  by 
"  a  mounted  knight,"   Mr.   Brown   went  up  to 


150      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

Yedo  to  the  United  States  Legation.  His  pur- 
pose was  to  secure  a  good  teacher.  Eager  to 
attack  the  language  at  once,  he  had  sought  one, 
only  to  be  disappointed.  All  his  efforts  to  get 
one  at  Kanagawa  were  in  vain.  Was  official  in- 
terference the  cause?  It  is  certain  that  at  first 
the  government  opposed  in  their  people  all  com- 
munication of  knowledge  to  foreigners.  For 
years  the  prisons  had  held  men  who  wrote  books 
or  gave  away  maps  to  foreigners.  Even  while  the 
rivet  heads  of  the  political  boiler  were  just  ready 
to  fly,  the  Tycoon*s  officers  were  climbing  on  the 
safety  valve  and  piling  up  fresh  falsehoods  to 
hold  it  down.  Already,  though  Mr.  Brown 
knew  it  not,  there  was  a  catacomb,  and  Chris- 
tianity in  Japan  had  a  subterranean  history.  In 
our  day  the  tombs  of  the  men  once  imiprisoned 
are  built  high  and  gloriously  garnished. 

When  the  ladies  arrived  in  Yokohama  they 
transformed  the  shelter  into  a  home,  and  named 
it  "  The  Evergreens."  In  summer  their  temple 
house  was  delightful.  In  the  raw  autumn  they 
found  that  "  living  in  the  house  is  almost  living 
out  of  doors  here.  No  wonder  that  the  Japanese 
never  suffocate  from  the  use  of  their  charcoal 
braziers." 

As  a  religious  invader  S.  R.  Brown  was 
thoroughly  tactful  and  sympathetic.  In  opening 
a  box  for  Mrs.  Hepburn,  containing  ten  gilt- 
framed  pictures,  such  as  Mrs.  Doremus  had  in 
her    schoolroom    in    the    old    South    Reformed 


Life  in  a  Buddhist  Temple        151 

Church  in  New  York  and  which  were  presented 
by  her  Sunday-School  scholars  to  Mrs.  Hepburn, 
the  first  one  taken  out  was  an  engraving  of  the 
Crucifixion.  Mr.  Brown  wrote:  *' I  told  Mrs. 
Hepburn  that  I  could  not  have  that  picture  in 
sight.  I  do  not  like  the  thing  as  a  matter  of 
taste,  and  I  fear  some  Japanese  spy  might  see  it 
and  report  us  as  Roman  Catholics.  She  quite 
agreed  with  me  and  turned  it  upside  down  on  her 
bed  in  the  bedroom.  Soon  after,  the  governor 
of  Kanagawa,  with  interpreter  and  suite  of 
sworded  gentry,  arrived.  The  door  from  her 
sitting  room  opened  into  the  bedroom,  and  while 
her  back  was  turned  one  of  the  Japanese  slipped 
into  the  bedroom  and  began  to  examine  the  pic- 
tures. Soon  after  this  Dr.  Hepburn  came  in, 
and  while  he  was  showing  the  pictures,  not 
knowing  what  sort  of  things  they  were,  one  of 
the  Japanese  turned  up  the  picture  of  the  Cruci- 
fixion. At  once  they  all  began  to  cast  glances 
at  each  other  and  began  to  ask  if  that  were  Jesus. 
Dr.  H.,  himself  surprised,  could  only  answer  that 
it  was.  They  asked  why  they  were  killing 
Jesus,  and  who  were  the  persons  on  the  right 
and  left  of  the  picture.  Dr.  H.  explained  about 
the  thieves  and  the  humiliation  of  Jesus,  and 
entered  considerably  into  the  preaching  of  Christ 
in  answer  to  their  questions."  Thus  he  was 
providentially  obliged  to  be  the  first  to  preach 
Christ  here,  and  that  to  a  governor  and  his 
suite. 


152      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

"  The  governor's  object  was  to  ask  that  he 
might  take  all  the  doctor's  Chinese  books  to  his 
office  to  examine  them,  and  seemed  quite  to  ex- 
pect that  Dr.  H.  would  give  them  up  at  once, 
which  the  doctor  refused  to  do  till  he  had  referred 
to  the  American  Consul." 

Mr.  Brown  was  gluing  chairs  together,  and 
did  not  go  to  see  the  notables,  knowing  that  they 
had  come  to  spy  out  the  land.  The  American 
Consul  Door  at  once  informed  the  Japanese 
governor  that  his  demand  was  contrary  to  treaty 
stipulations.  "  But  what  we  all  regard  most  is 
that  God  has  taken  the  matter  out  of  our  mission, 
out  of  our  own  hands,  as  it  were,  and  made  a  pro- 
vidential disclosure  of  our  objects  in  coming  here, 
quite  contrary  to  our  expectations,  and  in  a  man- 
ner which  we  should  have  tried  to  avoid.  I 
should  much  rather  have  the  matter  where  it  is, 
in  God's  hands,  than  in  mine.  I  fear  no  ill  con- 
sequence from  it,  though  we  may  be  watched  and 
hampered  for  a  while  in  consequence  of  this  early 
disclosure." 

No  ill  consequences  ensued.  For  convenience 
and  safety,  the  American  minister,  Mr.  Harris, 
gave  Dr.  Hepburn  the  nominal  appointment  of 
physician,  and  Mr.  Brown  that  of  chaplain  to 
the  American  legation. 

At  first  domiciliary  visits  were  made  by  the 
government  officers,  to  see  whether  these  mission- 
aries were  dangerous  persons,  but  these  after 
a  while  ceased. 


Life  in  a  Buddhist  Temple       153 

Nevertheless,  thousands  of  the  suspicious 
island-hermits  imagined  that  the  mercantile  oc- 
cupation of  sea-ports  was  only  the  thin  end  of 
the  wedge  of  conquest  by  the  hated  aliens. 
Christianity  was  under  ban  as  a  sect  accursed  by 
priests,  outlawed  by  government,  and  in  popular 
notion  a  system  of  sorcery  and  diabolical  miagic. 
Thousands  of  polished  ruffians,  gentlemanly 
scoundrels,  and  ferocious  patriots,  lacking  in 
information,  were  quite  ready  to  murder  the  new- 
comers. They  considered  it  a  knightly  act  to 
do  so — so  far  had  Bushido,  or  Japanese  chivalry, 
become  a  narrow  cult.  Some  even  entered  the 
missionaries'  premises  in  order  to  assassinate 
them,  but  were  disarmed  in  their  minds  by  what 
they  saw  and  heard^  and  thus  saved  from  being 
fools  as  well  as  felons.  Indeed,  for  the  improve- 
ment of  their  civilization,  the  Japanese  needed  a 
native  Cervantes  quite  as  much  as  for  purer 
religion  they  needed  to  profit  by  the  presence  of 
Christian  missionaries. 

It  was  a  thrilling  experience,  when  Mr.  Brown 
took  his  first  ride  on  the  historic  Tokaido.  It 
was  not  then  the  "  cool  sequestered  way,"  nearly 
deserted  in  these  days  of  railroading,  but  was 
the  most  famous  highway  of  the  emipire,  gay  with 
cavalcades  and  as  full  of  life  and  color  as  the 
sentimental  tramps  and  voluptuaries,  Yajirobe 
and  Kidahachi,  in  the  delightfully  graphic  book 
''Shanks*  Mare"  ("  Hizakurige "),  the  wittiest 
work  in  the  Japanese  language,  have  described  it. 


154      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

Mr.  Brown  found  Mr.  Harris,  the  American 
minister,  living  in  the  fine  old  Buddhist  edifice 
of  Zempukiji,  or  the  Temple  of  Virtue  and  Pros- 
perity, about  one  mile  southwest  of  Shiba.  It 
belonged  to  the  Shinshiu  sect,  and  the  famous 
old  jinko  tree  fronting  it  is  said  to  have  been 
planted  by  the  illustrious  founder,  Shinran. 
Years  afterward  Mr.  Brown  met  the  same  legend 
on  his  journey  to  the  west  coast. 

On  that  day  of  this  his  first  vision  of  the  City 
of  the  Bay  Door,  a  dozen  priests  were  chanting 
prayers  together  with  interludes  upon  bamboo 
flutes,  interspersing  their  intonation  while  read- 
ing the  sutras.  They  were  slow  in  movement 
and  all  in  unison.  The  music  reminded  the 
American  musician  of  the  ancient  Gregorian 
measures.  He  noticed  that  two  parts  were 
played,  "  which,"  said  he,  ''  is  the  first  approach 
to  harmony  I  have  ever  heard  in  the  music  of 
the  East." 

The  next  day  the  party  rode  out  on  horseback 
to  see  the  O  Shiro,  or  castle.  It  was  a  great 
fortified  inclosure,  five  miles  in  diameter,  with 
wide  moats,  causeways,  drawbridges,  grassy 
embankments  in  the  hilly  part  of  the  castle  and 
massive  stone  walls  in  the  lower  portions,  with 
white  ramparts,  imposing  towers,  and  all  the 
striking  features  of  feudal  architecture.  In  the 
very  heart  of  the  city,  in  the  castle  moats,  thou- 
sands of  wild  fowl,  geese,  ducks,  and  cranes  were 
feeding  quietly,  not  a  gun  being  allowed  to  be 


Life  in  a  Buddhist  Temple        155 

fired  within  the  city  Hmits  of  the  municipality. 
Inside  of  the  great  inclosure  there  were  no  crowds 
of  people  and  comparatively  few  individual 
pedestrians,  but  there  were  many  daimios,  or  feu- 
dal barons,  and  their  processions.  In  the  country 
at  large,  as  it  was  with  the  people  before  Joseph 
and  Pharaoh,  everybody  must  get  down  on  his 
knees  at  the  forerunner's  cry,  when  the  nobles 
with  their  trains  passed  through  the  towns  and 
villages.  Nevertheless,  in  Yedo  there  was  one 
greater  than  these  daimios,  even  the  Shogun, 
and  so  in  the  great  city  the  daimios,  being  vas- 
sals of  the  Yedo  ruler,  received  no  such  public 
homage,  while,  on  the  contrary,  before  the  palan- 
quin or  even  the  Tycoon's  tea- jars  or  other  mov- 
ing freight,  all  must  get  down  on  the  ground. 
Within  the  castle  walls  there  were  no  pack 
horses  or  wheeled  vehicles  to  be  seen.  Yedo  was 
a  city  of  princes,  priests,  and  people  who  occu- 
pied areas  diminishing  in  extent  according  to 
the  order  named.  While  the  364  *'  princes " 
(daimios)  with  their  thousands  of  retainers  filled 
up  the  larger  part  of  the  city,  and  the  temples 
and  monasteries  occupied  enormous  space,  the 
people  were  huddled  closely  together.  On  a  map 
showing  ecclesiastical  property,  old  Yedo  is 
literally  "  painted  red."  "  I  think  no  other  city  in 
the  world,"  he  wrote,  *'  contains  so  many  places 
of  worship  or  so  many  priests.  A  temple  of 
Kuanon,  the  center  of  pilgrims  from  all  parts  of 
the  empire,  was  then  so  crowded  with  people 


156      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

that  we  did  not  attempt  to  get  into  it."  I{t 
required  from  four  to  seven  guardsmen  to  get  the 
party  in  and  out  of  the  crowd.  The  avenue 
between  the  outer  gateway  and  the  temple,  one 
thousand  feet  long,  was  filled  on  both  sides  with 
shops  of  toys  and  curiosities.  In  a  word,  this 
was  the  great  Asakusa  temple. 

Dismounting  and  sending  the  horses  forward 
to  meet  them  at  a  certain  point,  they  embarked 
on  pleasure  boats  and  descended  the  Ogawa,  or 
Great  River,  of  Yedo,  passing  by  the  Imperial 
storehouses  for  grain  and  money.  These  were 
nine  long  one-storied  buildings  running  back  to 
the  river,  divided  by  canals,  which  were  closed 
with  gates  at  the  riverside.  Many  of  the  man- 
sions of  the  daimios  were  also  visible  from  the 
river.  There  was  scarcely  a  stone  or  brick  house 
in  Yedo  and  but  few  in  the  empire.  Instead  of 
the  imaginary  "  stone  "  or  "  brick  "  edifices  of 
the  hasty  tourist  who  had  caught  a  glimpse  of 
Yedo,  *'  what  appeared  so  firm  to  the  writer  .  .  . 
would  scarcely  withstand  a  smart  kick  from  a 
horse." 

The  letter  describes  the  features  of  the  mu- 
nicipality, the  firemen,  the  landscape,  the  exceed- 
ingly pretty,  but  very  modest,  and  to  an  Ameri- 
can, utterly  cheerless  houses,  without  a  pane  of 
glass  or  a  chimney,  and  warmed  only  by  a  char- 
coal brazier,  in  which  the  beds  were  mats  or 
quilts  and  in  which  privacy  was  almost  im- 
possible. 


Life  in  a  Buddhist  Temple       157 

With  Mr.  Heusken,  the  ill-fated  young  Dutch- 
man, secretary  of  the  Legation,  afterward  cut  to 
pieces  by  assassins,  he  took  a  long  ride  of  about 
twenty  miles  to  the  Temple  of  the  Five  Hundred 
Rakan,  or  Primitive  Disciples  of  Buddha.  It 
stood  in  loneliness,  unrepaired  after  the  terrible 
earthquake  of  1854.  The  gilded  wooden  images 
had  been  thrown  down  by  the  shock,  and  though 
most  of  them  had  been  set  up  again  on  their 
pedestals,  yet  arms,  heads,  and  legs  were  lying  all 
around  in  confusion.  Another  visit  was  made  to 
Uyeno  and  Shiba,  where  were  the  superb  mauso- 
leums of  the  Tokugawa  shoguns. 

On  Sunday,  the  nth  of  March,  at  the  request 
of  the  American  minister,  divine  worship  and 
preaching  were  held  in  the  American  Legation, 
the  auditors  consisting  of  nine  gentlemen  from 
the  legations  of  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States.  Mr.  Harris  gave  Chaplain  Brown  his 
Bible,  probably  the  first  in  the  English  language 
brought  (November  30,  1857)  to  Yedo,  and 
there  statedly  read  till  the  7th  of  March,  1858. 
The  text  chosen  was  the  first  verse  of  the  Bible. 
This  service  was  a  landmark  in  the  history  of 
modern  Christianity  in  Japan. 


All  Things  to  all  Men 


XIII. 
All  Things  to  all   Men 

LIKE  his  Master  and  the  great  apostle  to  the 
nations,  Robbins  Brown  made  himself  ser- 
^  vant  unto  all  that  he  might  gain  the  more. 
Well  might  he  say,  "  I  am  become  all  things  to  all 
men,  that  I  may  by  all  means  save  some,"  as  the 
experiences  and  incidents  recorded  in  this  chapter 
will  show.  Probably  it  was  from  this  very  mo- 
tive— desire  to  be  in  friendly  touch  with  his  fel- 
low men,  and  especially  with  those  who  spoke 
the  English  tongue — that  he  was  a  freemason, 
though  more  active  in  the  benevolences  than  in 
the  ceremonies  of  the  lodge. 

At  his  home  in  Kanagawa  during  i860  public 
worship  and  preaching  were  enjoyed  every  Sab- 
bath, to  attend  which  many  English-speaking 
persons  came  over  from  Yokohama.  From  the 
first  Mr.  Brown  plead  for  a  church  edifice  so 
that  the  Japanese  would  not  think  that  foreigners 
were  atheists.  He  asked  for  one  thousand  dol- 
lars to  build  the  first  Protestant  house  of  worship 
in  Japan. 

Having  studied  the  possibilities  in  the  ports 
about  to  be  opened,  including  Niigata,  he  wrote 

161 


i62      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

home  to  the  Board,  begging  for  more  helpers. 
He  hoped  that  Nagasaki  might  be  kept  as  a 
station  and  Mr.  Verbeck  be  allowed  to  remain 
there.  His  ideal  of  a  missionary  worker  among 
the  keen  and  intelligent  Japanese  was  very  high. 
"  We  want  the  best  men  as  to  respectability, 
attainments,  and  piety  that  the  Church  can  pro- 
duce. .  .  I  may  speak  freely.  No  half-educated 
man,  nor  one  who  has  not  a  good  degree  of  tact 
in  adapting  himself  to  men  of  all  sorts,  nor  one 
whose  piety  and  enlightened  views  would  not 
commend  him  to  the  best  churches  at  home  .  .  . 
should,  in  my  opinion,  be  sent  to  this  country. 
Above  all  other  natural  qualities  what  is  called 
good  nature,  a  cheerful,  equal,  genial  tempera- 
ment, is  desirable  here.  The  Japanese  are  courte- 
ous and  polite,  very  smiling  even  when  they  are 
counterworking  against  an  enemy,  and  they  will 
not  be  driven.  They  are  very  unlike  the  Chinese 
in  that  respect.  They  will  not  bear  browbeat- 
ing. A  good-natured,  patient  course  of  treat- 
ment accomplishes  much  more  with  them  than 
asperity  and  blustering." 

With  what  keen  insight  the  new  missionary 
read  the  character  of  the  people  among  whom 
he  had  come;  subtly  discriminating  them  from 
the  Chinese,  for  example!  Only  the  best  ought 
to  be  sent  out  from  home  to  tell  these  islanders 
of  the  Infinite  Father  of  all,  both  theirs  and  ours. 

Ever  ready  to  embrace  opportunities  to  know 
more  of  Japan,  he  went  to  Nagasaki  on  the  28th 


All  Things  to  All  Men  163 

of  September  in  a  British  steam  transport,  re- 
turning to  Kanagawa  on  the  25th  of  October  by 
the  U.  S.  S.  S.  Hartford.  He  sailed  through 
the  beautiful  Inland  Sea,  as  yet  uncut  by  the  keel 
of  a  steamer.  Returning  by  the  same  route  he 
visited  three  tawns  on  the  way,  Shimonoseki, 
Hiogo,  and  Osaka,  the  last  two  to  be  opened  to 
foreign  trade  and  residence  January  i,  1862. 
Thus  he  saw  parts  of  the  country  which  no 
Protestant  missionary  had  yet  looked  upon.  On 
deck  he  interpreted  for  Captain  Lowndes,  who 
had  three  Japanese  pilots  aboard,  not  one  of 
whom  was  able  to  speak  a  word  of  English.  He 
wrote,  "  The  scene  is  one  of  surpassing  beauty, 
not  unlike  that  of  a  lake  among  mountains, 
studded  with  islands  which  are  all  inhabited  and 
cultivated  wherever  the  steepness  of  their  de- 
clivities does  not  prevent  it."  This  was  perhaps 
the  first  time  that  foreign  vessels  had  passed 
through  the  Inland  Sea.  Half  of  this  delightful 
month  was  spent  with  Mr.  Verbeck  in  Nagasaki. 

The  Hartford  had  not  yet  become  Farragut's 
flagship.  In  the  early  seventies,  long  after  the 
Civil  War,  he  saw  again  in  Japanese  waters 
la  belle  frigate,  as  the  French  officers  called  this 
superb  vessel. 

The  spirit  of  romance  is  necessary  to  sustain 
missionaries  of  a  certain  tenuperament,  but  in 
this  veteran  the  sanguine  emotions  so  common  to 
novices  were  finely  tempered.  After  surveying 
the  field  he  warned  his  friends  in  New  York  not 


164      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

to  be  "  too  much  carried  away  by  the  excitement 
of  the  new  mission  to  Japan."  They  were  not 
indeed  too  much  interested  in  it,  but  perhaps 
they  were  too  enthusiastic  in  their  feehngs,  "  too 
much  disposed  to  laud  men,  and  even  us  poor 
missionaries."  Having  once  been  in  the  field  to 
which  he  was  warned  that  international  sowers 
of  tares  would  soon  come,  he  was  well  aware 
that  **  the  couleur  de  rose  is  less  appropriate  to 
the  aspect  of  things  in  either  land  than  the 
couleur  de  nuit."  He  knew  only  too  well  that 
soon  would  come  the  emissaries  of  the  synagogue 
of  Satan  to  persuade  the  Japanese  that  Chris- 
tianity was  only  for  children  and  the  ignorant, 
and  that  it  was  "  discredited  "  at  home, — which 
we  know  is,  and  always  has  been,  true  of  Christ's 
gospel  to  those  who  do  not  believe  in  Him. 

Continuing  his  investigations  into  the  native 
speech  and  literature,  he  noticed  that  despite  the 
use  of  the  Chinese  characters  even  by  children, 
and  the  many  words  borrowed  from  Chinese, 
"  the  genius  of  the  two  languages  is  so  different 
that  it  is  a  marvel  to  me  that  the  one  should  have 
ever  been  thus  wrought  into  the  other  .  .  .  yet 
these  two  languages  which  seem  scarcely  to  have 
any  ground  for  affiliation  are  mixed  and  com- 
pounded into  one."  Indeed  the  linguistic  labor 
of  these  first  pioneers.  Brown  and  Hepburn,  at 
Kanagawa,  was  prodigious,  almost  appalling. 
Yet,  as  usual  with  this  master,  he  trained  up  dis- 
ciples. 


All  Things  to  All  Men  165 

The  present  British  minister  to  Peking,  Sir 
Ernest  M.  Satow,  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  four 
or  five  great  EngHsh-speaking  Japanese  scholars 
in  the  world,  has  gladly  acknowledged  his  in- 
debtedness to  S.  R.  Brown.  On  his  arrival  in 
Japan,  having  entered  the  British  Consular  ser- 
vice as  student  interpreter,  he  was  taken  by  his 
fellow  student  Russell  Robertson  over  to  Kana- 
gawa  to  call  on  Dr.  Brown  and  Dr.  Hepburn. 
There  existed  at  that  time  only  a  rather  poor 
collection  of  sentences  rendered  into  Japanese 
by  the  Rev.  S.  Liggins,  and  an  essay  on  Japanese 
grammar,  by  Sir  Rutherford  Alcock,  of  very  little 
practical  use.  Dr.  Brown  was  just  then  printing 
the  first  sheets  of  his  book  "  Colloquial  Japanese," 
and  kindly  gave  them  some  spare  proofs,  and  on 
these  the  two  young  mfen  made  a  start  in  the 
language.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  superb 
scholarship  in  Japanese  for  which  the  minister  to 
China  is  noted.  In  October  Colonel  Neale 
sanctioned  the  arrangement  by  which  Dr.  Brown 
gave  the  two  young  men  two  hours'  teaching 
every  week.  The  first  book  they  read  under 
their  teacher  was  the  famous  popular  sermons  of 
the  Buddhist  priest  which  A.  B.  Mitford  has 
given  in  translation  in  volume  i.  of  his  classic, 
*'  Tales  of  Old  Japan."  These  lessons  continued 
until  1863.  In  a  letter  written  from  the  legation 
in  Peking  to  the  biographer,  June  2^  1901,  Sir 
Ernest  writes :  "  Dr.  Brown's  teaching  was  of 
the  greatest  assistance  to  me  and  instilled  into 


1 66      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

me  a  taste  for  Japanese  literature,  apart  from  the 
study  of  official  documents  to  which  a  student 
interpreter  has  to  apply  himself.  He  was  an 
extremely  kind  and  faithful  teacher,  and  without 
his  help  it  would  have  been  very  difficult  to  make 
any  progress  with  the  language,  for  in  thosa 
days  there  existed  nothing  m  the  shape  of  a 
colloquial  grammar.  .  .  I  have  the  most  vivid 
recollection  of  Dr.  Brown's  kindly  countenance, 
his  fine  aquiline  nose,  bright  eyes  and  the  gray 
hair,  altogether  a  noble  head." 

From  the  second  Sunday  after  his  arrival,  in 
November,  1859,  he  had  begun  religious  services 
with  preaching  once  a  day,  and  these  were  con- 
tinued at  Dr.  Hepburn's  house  for  about  eight 
months.  In  June  Rev.  John  Nevius,  from 
Ningpo,  came  over  to  recruit  his  wife's  health  and 
relieved  him  on  alternate  Sundays.  In  July,  i860, 
at  the  request  of  English-speaking  merchants  in 
Yokohama,  he  went  across  the  bay  and  preached 
to  a  congregation  of  eight  gentlemen.  The  very 
next  week  a  request  came  for  continuous,  per- 
manent public  worship.  A  room  was  procured 
and  the  congregation,  averaging  thirty,  occasion- 
ally rose  over  forty.  A  committee  of  business 
men  was  appointed  to  purchase  a  lot  for  a  church 
edifice  and  procure  subscriptions  for  the  building 
of  a  church,  and  the  salary  of  a  chaplain — to  be  a 
clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England.  The 
amount  raised  was  over  four  thousand  dol- 
lars.    Except  the  French  Catholic  Church,  this 


All  Things  to  All  Men  167 

was  the  only  outward  sign  of  a  Christian  com- 
munity in  Yokohama. 

The  thousand  dollars  necessary  to  print  "  Col- 
loquial Japanese  "  was  voluntarily  furnished  by  a 
Scottish  merchant  in  Yokohama,  while  the  pas- 
sage to  and  from  Shanghai  to  oversee  the  print- 
ing of  the  book  was  given  by  a  Jewish  gentle- 
man, so  that  this  publication  cost  the  Board 
nothing. 

Let  us  read  here  an  incident  told  by  Mr. 
Brown's  sister-in-law  in  1901 : 

"  It  was  said  of  him  at  his  funeral,  by  Dr. 
Stout,  a  fellow  missionary,  that  he  was  equally 
popular  with  foreigners  and  natives.  This  was 
not,  in  most  cases,  considered  a  compliment,  as  it 
implied  a  slacking  of  religious  character,  but 
in  Dr.  Brown's  case  it  was  the  result  of  a 
general  spirit  of  fellowship  and  common  sense, 
which  gave  him  a  common  ground  with  all  sorts 
of  men.  One  sea  captain,  returning  to  this 
country,  said,  "  I  have  found  one  real  mission- 
ary— I  was  very  sick,  and  I  think  the  surgeon 
thought  I  was  going  off  this  time.  He  spoke  of 
sending  for  Mr.  Brown,  whom  I  had  met  in 
America,  but  I  said,  *  No,  I  don't  want  to  see  any 
missionary.'  When  he  came  at  first  I  would 
have  nothing  to  say  to  him,  but  he  had  a  friendly 
way  of  talking,  and  when  he  said,  '  Eh,  Roger, 
have  you  got  any  tobacco  ? '  that  broke  the  ice, 
he  could  say  all  he  wanted  to  then." 


Amid  Wars  and  Rumors  of  Wars 


XIV 
Amid  Wars  and  Rumors  of  War 

SO  far  as  visible  or  statistical  results  were 
concerned  during  these  years  at  Kana- 
gawa,  the  missionary  seemed  to  count  as 
little  as  a  coral  insect.  To  the  average  observer 
his  work  seemed  as  useless  as  that  of  the  miner 
or  foundation  layer  does  to  the  trivial-minded. 
These  were  dark,  sad  days  during  the  first  half 
of  the  war  for  the  Union  at  home,  and  when 
Japan  also  was  in  the  turmoil  of  coming  civil 
war;  but  there  were  bright  days  too.  Of  his 
coming  helpers,  Rev.  J.  H.  and  Mrs.  Ballagh,  he 
hoped  that  "  the  good  Lord  will  permit  us  long 
to  labor  together  in  his  cause  in  this  land."  That 
prayer  was  answered.  The  comrades  in  gospel 
service  had  eighteen  years  of  mutual  friendship 
in  Japan. 

One  happy  surprise  was  the  receipt  of  a  letter 
of  credit  for  two  hundred  pounds  sterling,  which 
Chaplain  H.  Wood  of  the  U.  S.  S.  S.  Powhatcm 
had  collected  at  Honolulu. 

"It  is  certainly  remarkable,"  wrote  Mr.  Brown, 
"  that  the  money  should  have  come  from  such 
a  source.     I  well  remember  the  time  when  the 

271 


172      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

first  company  of  missionaries  sailed  for  the  Sand- 
wich Islands.  One  of  the  number  was  my  wife's 
first  teacher,  and  I  knew  her  in  my  childhood 
also.  Some  forty-one  years  have  passed  and 
what  has  God  wrought?  I  am  in  Japan,  a 
country  not  then  thought  of  as  a  possible  mis- 
sionary field,  and  there  comes  from  the  Christian 
kingdom  of  those  then  pagan  islands  the  first 
donation  toward  the  first  mission  chapel  in  this 
country.  And  such  a  donation  too,  so  large  an 
amount,  is  a  striking  demonstration  of  the  effects 
of  the  gospel  upon  these  islands.  .  .  The  con- 
trast between  1820  and  1861  amazes  me.  Surely 
the  Lord  our  God  has  good  in  store  for  this 
land." 

By  mid  spring  of  1861  Mr.  Brown  had  been 
three  times  in  Yedo,  each  time  spending  a  week  at 
the  United  States  Legation.  He  rode  not  fewer 
than  one  hundred  miles  on  horseback  in  various 
directions  in  and  around  the  city,  but  saw  no 
sign  of  dislike  or  ill  will  among  the  people.  All 
this  was  very  different  from  statements  of  lively 
newspaper  correspondents.  With  Dr.  Hepburn, 
but  separately,  he  was  working  at  a  translation 
of  the  Gospel  of  Mark  into  Japanese.  They  had 
it  repeatedly  revised  and  the  Gospel  of  John  was 
begun.  A  knowledge  of  Chinese  was  requisite, 
for  "  Chinese  is  the  classic  element  in  the  Japa- 
nese language."  Chinese  Christian  books  were 
still  called  for.  His  teacher  wanted  Martin's 
"  Evidences  of  Christianity  "  "  to  introduce  into 


Wars  and  Rumors  of  War        i  ']2y 

a  Japanese  school,  not,  he  said,  to  adopt  the  faith 
of  Christians,  but  to  learn  what  it  is  and  to  see 
its  proof."  He  made  to  the  Board  a  proposition 
to  pubHsh  a  Christian  periodical  of  some  sort  in 
the  common  people's  language.  Two  bright 
little  Japanese  girls  were  being  taught  daily  in 
the  family  school  by  Miss  Adrian. 

This  was  the  era  of  law  based  on  the  codes  of 
China,  and  he  thus  pictures  some  phases  of  the 
native  life  around  him: 

"  Last  week  there  was  an  execution  by  burn- 
ing at  the  stake  near  Yokohama.  The  culprit 
was  an  incendiary.  Incendiaries  are  always 
punished  in  this  way  here.  A  strong  post  was 
erected  in  the  ground,  fastened  at  the  top  to  a 
sapling  bent  in  the  form  of  an  arch,  so  that  both 
its  ends  were  inserted  in  the  ground.  The  culprit 
was  bound  to  the  upright  post  by  cords  about  the 
ankles,  below  the  knees,  and  about  the  hips  and 
neck,  his  hands  having  been  previously  tied 
behind  him.  His  feet  were  some  eighteen  inches 
from  the  ground.  Drugged  sakeixxz^  spirit)  was 
given  him  to  drink  before  the  fire  was  kindled, 
and  from  appearances  I  should  judge  that  he  was 
also  strangled  by  the  cord  about  his  neck.  The 
fire  of  bamboo  and  straw  was  built  in  a  circle 
around  the  post,  and  at  a  distance  of  three  or 
four  feet,  so  that  the  body  was  badly  scorched 
and  blackened  with  smoke. 

"I  saw  the  body  hanging  there  the  next  day 
guarded  by  a  few  soldiers,  and  was  told  that  it 


174      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

is  customary  to  expose  it  thus  for  three  days, 
for  the  sake  of  the  moral  effect  upon  the  people. 
It  is  a  horrid  sight  to  behold,  certainly.  It  is 
said  there  is  to  be  another  execution,  by  impale- 
ment with  spears,  in  a  few  days.  Thousands  of 
people  flocked  to  the  execution  ground  the  other 
day,  men,  women,  and  children — a  promiscuous 
crowd.  As  in  other  countries,  it  often  happens 
that  there  is  much  crime  committed  among  the 
spectators  at  such  scenes."  The  reference  here 
is  to  the  punishment  by  crucifixion  on  the  bamboo 
cross,  when  two  long  lances  were  thrust  cross- 
wise from  thigh  to  shoulder,  the  vital  parts  being 
avoided  so  as  to  prolong  the  suffering. 

The  political  clouds  were  lowering  to  black- 
ness in  Japan,  portending  a  storm,  and  the  Yedo 
government  was  pressing  the  missionaries  to 
leave  Kanagawa  to  go  to  Yokohama.  At 
home,  civil  war  was  raging  and  missionary  con- 
tributions were  falling  off.  The  outlook  was  not 
bright  on  January  i,  1862. 

While  he  was  musing  the  fire  burned.  Soon 
after  midday  a  young  gentleman  from  the  British 
consulate  at  Yokohama  landed,  and  calling  on 
Mr.  Brown,  handed  him  a  document  in  behalf  of 
F.  Howard  Vyse,  Esq.,  H.  B.  M.  consul,  and 
twenty-four  gentlemen,  British,  American,  and 
Dutch.  It  was  addressed  to  Mrs.  Brown,  begging 
her  acceptance  of  the  inclosed  paper,  which  was 
offered  to  her  family  as  a  small  token  of  regard, 
and  of  the  esteem  in  which  the  valuable  services 


Wars  and  Rumors  of  War        1 75 

of  Mr.  Brown  were  held.  The  document  read  as 
follows :  "  The  friends  of  Rev.  S.  R  Brown 
having  learned  that  he  will  be  required  to  give 
up  his  premises  at  Kanagawa  and  remove  to  the 
foreign  settlement  at  Yokohama,  and  that  no 
funds  are  provided  to  build  him  a  suitable  resi- 
dence, have  in  consideration  of  the  high  esteem 
they  entertain  toward  Mr.  Brown  and  his  family, 
and  in  consideration  of  the  valuable  services  ren- 
dered by  them  since  two  years  passed,  resolved 
to  present  Mrs.  Brown  with  a  house  and  lot, 
toward  which  we  subscribe  the  sum  set  opposite 
our  respective  names." 

This  New  Year's  present,  amounting  to  $1450, 
apart  from  personal  gratification,  relieved  the 
Board  from  the  immediate  necessity  of  building 
a  house  for  Mr.  Brown.  The  services  referred 
to  were  preaching  since  1859,  and  the  work  of 
drawing  the  plans  and  specifications  and  contract 
for  the  British  Consular  Chapel,  about  to  be 
erected,  all  of  which  Mr.  Brown  did  without  the 
remotest  expectation  of  any  earthly  reward.  He 
was  only  happy  to  do  what  was  possible  to  help 
his  fellow-men  around  him. 

Without  this  contribution,  it  is  even  possible 
that  the  Reformed  Church  in  America  might  have 
been  obliged  to  recall  her  missionaries  at  Yoko- 
hama. The  amount  allowed  by  the  Board  for 
the  year  was  $2646,  but  the  extra  expenses  of 
the  new  missionary  and  loss  by  exchange  caused 
this  amount  to  be  overrun.     How  the  veteran 


176      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

looked  to  others  about  this  time  is  told  by  Mr. 
Frank  Hall  in  a  letter  of  1902: 

"  He  was  loved  and  respected  by  the  resident 
foreign  community  and  easily  won  his  way  to  the 
attention  and  regard  of  the  native  people.  His 
attachment  and  loyalty  to  his  native  land  were 
very  great,  and  he  was  always  ready  to  join  with 
his  compatriots  to  promote  social  and  political 
advancement.  His  home  in  those  early  days 
was  ever  the  center  of  generous  and  attractive 
hospitalities.  His  traits  were  of  the  amiable 
rather  than  the  aggressive  sort.  His  life  was 
that  of  the  full  placid  stream  rather  than  of  the 
boisterous  river." 

Mr.  Ballagh  in  1901  thus  writes  his  impres- 
sions : 

"Arriving  in  Yokohama  November  11,  1861, 
myself  and  wife  were  met  in  the  early  evening 
by  a  Mr.  Richards  and  Mrs.  Brown  and  con- 
veyed in  the  mission  house-boat  to  Kanagawa, 
where  we  were  comfortably  located  with  Dr.  J. 
C.  Hepburn,  in  the  same  '  compound '  with  the 
Browns.  .  .  Those  were  happy  days  in  our  old 
Jobutsuji  temple  home.  Dr.  Brown's  daughters 
and  younger  children,  the  calls  of  diplomatists, 
student  interpreters,  merchants,  and  visitors, 
made  the  Kanagawa  compound  an  important 
social  center.  Here  also  on  Sunday  and  week 
nights  religious  meetings  were  held.  The  Sab- 
bath A.  M.  services  were  held  at  Yokohama  in 
various  places,  at  the  time  of  my  arrival  in  the 


Wars  and  Rumors  of  War        177 

parlor  of  H.  B.  M.'s  Legation,  Sir  Rutherford 
Alcock,  H.  B.  M's  Minister,  being  often  present. 
Dr.  Brown  conducted  these  services.  Not  only 
Sco:tch,  English,  and  American  attended,  but  also 
Jews  and  Gentiles  alike." 

For  such  a  heterogeneous  company,  differing 
in  many  things, "  but  one  in  their  common 
humanity  and  spiritual  needs,  the  sunny  mis- 
sionary was  just  the  man.  "  Dr.  Brown's  early 
training  as  a  Congregationalist,  his  theological 
education  in  a  Presbyterian  Seminary  in  South 
Carolina,  a  teacher  in  the  Robert  Morrison 
school  in  China,  associated  with  the  English 
Church  services  in  Hong  Kong  and  Macao,  a 
Reformed  Church  minister  and  missionary,  he 
was  pre-eminently  catholic,  liberal,  and  toler- 
ant." 

Nevertheless,  as  we  have  seen,  it  happened  that 
after  all  Dr.  Brown's  catholic  labors,  looking  to 
the  erection  of  a  church,  by  the  strange  anomaly 
of  ecclesiasticism — man's  affair,  rather  than 
God's — he  was  never  asked  or  allowed  to  preach 
in  the  edifice  he  had  planned. 

It  was  because  of  this  that  the  American  com- 
munity and  a  few  British  "  Dissenters  "  insisted 
on  the  continuance  of  the  union  service,  even 
after  the  coming  of  a  parson  from  England  and 
the  establishment  of  the  English  ritual  service. 
"  Dr.  Brown  being  an  accomplished  musician, 
an  Asaph  in  sacred  song,  an  earnest  evangelical 
preacher  with  agreeable  voice  and  manner,  was 


178      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

a  most  acceptable  pastor  long  before  he  was 
called  officially  to  that  position  on  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Yokohama  Union  Church  in  1872." 

From  the  first,  Robbins  Brown  had  that  gift  of 
insight — so  necessary  to  the  success  of  a  mis- 
sionary— in  which  the  Master  was  pre-eminent. 
He  noted  the  ideal  side  of  life.  He  discerned 
the  nobler  nature  of  the  people  among  whom  he 
was  a  guest.  Writing  from  Kanagawa,  February 
18,  1862, he  said:  ''Our  Japanese  neighbors  show 
the  same  kindly  disposition  toward  us  which 
they  did  from  the  first,  and  with  some  of  them 
such  relations  of  friendship  have  grown  up  that 
it  would  be  a  grief  to  them  to  have  us  removed. 
Such  persons  say  that,  if  we  go  from  this  place 
to  Yokohama,  they  will  follow  us.  No  doubt 
something  of  this  feeling  arises  from  the  fact 
that  these  persons  derive  some  pecuniary  benefit 
from  the  supply  of  our  table.  But  there  are 
feelings  of  friendship  on  other  grounds  that 
make  them  speak  thus.  The  remembrance  of 
deeds  of  kindness  done  them  in  the  time  of  sick- 
ness makes  them  feel  that  they  have  found  true 
friends  in  the  missionary  families.  If  the  Japa- 
nese are  revengeful,  they  are  also  susceptible  to 
kindness  in  no  less  degree." 

So,  to  the  end  of  his  life,  almost  to  his  dying 
breath,  talked  this  optimist.  "  Had  I  a  hundred 
lives  to  live  over  again,  I  would  give  them  all 
for  Japan,"  he  said  repeatedly.  To  him  it  was 
a  privilege,  a  delight  to  work  for  Japan. 


Wars  and  Rumors  of  War        1 79 

The  bread  which  he  had  long  ago  cast  upon 
the  waters  was  now  coming  back.  Two  former 
Chinese  pupils  sent  Mr.  Brown  seventy-four  dol- 
lars each,  to  educate  his  son,  John  Morrison 
Brown,  in  Rutgers  College.  The  Bishop  of  Vic- 
toria, who  had  for  weeks  been  his  guest,  sent  him 
one  hundred  dollars  for  his  domestic  comfort. 

One  feature  of  Dr.  Brown's  activity  was  his 
constant  and  acceptable  contributions  to  the 
public  press  at  home,  especially  to  the  Spring- 
field Repiihlican,  concerning  current  political  and 
religious  events  in  Japan.  He  was  a  keen  inter- 
preter and  brilliant  commentator,  possessing 
truth  and  accuracy,  and  the  writer's  sixth  sense, 
of  being  interesting. 

While  the  Civil  War  at  home  was  raging  and 
the  missionaries  in  Japan  were  left  without 
money  at  the  ends  of  the  earth,  with  the  currency 
frightfully  disturbed  on  account  of  the  fluctua- 
tions in  the  value  of  silver,  Mr.  Brown  occupied 
some  of  his  leisure  and  sunny  hours  in  mastering 
the  fascinating  art  of  photography.  He  was  thus 
one  of  the  very  first  to  photograph  Japanese  cos- 
tumes, works  of  art,  and  varied  human  charac- 
ters. One  result  was  the  instruction  of  Renjio 
Shimooka,  still  living  at  the  age  of  over  four 
score  years,  the  first  native  of  Japan  to  learn  the 
fascinating  art  of  photography,  in  which  so  many 
of  his  countrymen  now  excel.  It  is  no  wonder 
that  this  artistic  craft  has  so  flourished  in  the 
island  empire,  for  few  countries  on  earth,  both  as 


i8o      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

to  landscapes  and  seashore,  have  scenery  more 
beautiful.  Nearly  every  famous  place  has  its 
list  of  lovely  features  or  phenomena.  On 
the  5th  of  October,  1862,  Mr.  Brown  sent 
forty-three  large  photographs  of  Japanese  scenes, 
with  proper  notes  and  explanations,  to  be 
delivered  to  the  Reformed  Churches  at  Owasco 
Outlet,  Utica,  Syracuse,  Geneva,  Farmer,  and 
Ithaca,  the  people  of  which  had  contributed  to 
purchase  apparatus  and  chemicals  for  his  use. 
He  had  promised  these  when  in  America,  expect- 
ing that  Dr.  Simmons  would  make  them. 

The  Americans  at  Kanagawa,  the  missionaries 
and  the  consul,  amid  the  smoking  volcanoes  and 
rumbling  earthquakes  of  Japanese  politics,  were 
entirely  without  protection  from  their  own 
government.  If  protection  were  needed,  it  must 
come  from  the  Japanese.  The  Confederate 
cruisers  had  swept  American  commerce  from  the 
seas,  while,  under  pressure  of  the  fanatics,  the 
Mikado  had  issued  orders  to  sweep  the  aliens  out 
of  the  country  and  close  the  ports.  In  this  alarm- 
ing crisis  Mr.  Pruyn  sent  word  to  Captain 
McDougal  of  the  U.  S.  S.  S.  Wyoming  at  Hong 
Kong,  then  on  the  lookout  for  the  Alabama,  to 
bring  his  ship  to  Yokohama,  and  "  be  ready  to 
use  her  guns  for  the  protection  of  the  Legation 
and  American  residents  in  Japan."  Her  arrival 
brought  joy  to  all  who  loved  the  starry  flag,  as 
the  emblem  of  home  and  proof  that  they  yet  had 
a  country. 


Wars  and  Rumors  of  War        i8i 

As  for  the  British  fleet  then  in  Japanese 
waters,  it  was  sufficient  to  injure  and  provoke  the 
Japanese,  but  was  not  large  enough  to  conquer 
or  hold  anything.  Kanagawa  people  were  carry- 
ing their  goods  into  the  country,  but  a  Japanese 
friend,  who  brought  Mr.  Brown  a  new  native 
work  designed  to  teach  English,  said  that  his 
neighbors  would  not  be  alarmed  until  they  saw 
him  start  to  move.  "  He  asked  me  if  foreign 
nations  would  not  think  the  Japanese  government 
crazy,  were  they  for  a  similar  cause  to  send  men- 
of-war  to  London  and  threaten  to  fire  upon  it, 
if  their  demands  were  not  complied  with  in 
twenty  days.  I  replied  that  I  thought  they 
would."  As  matter  of  fact,  the  proceedings  of 
the  British  representatives  in  Japan  were  most 
severely  condemned  in  Parliament. 

Matters  approached  a  crisis.  On  the  last  day 
of  May  Mr.  Brown  crossed  the  bay  to  Yokohama 
to  preach.  After  a  conference  with  all  the 
foreign  consuls,  the  Japanese  governor  said  he 
was  personally  responsible  for  foreigners,  and 
as  there  were  bad  men  about,  ready  for  deeds  of 
violence,  in  order  to  bring  the  Taikun's  govern- 
ment into  trouble  with  the  treaty  powers,  he 
wanted  them  all  to  dwell  in  Yokohama  and  he 
offered  to  pay  expenses  of  removal.  Thereupon 
the  American  consul  decided  to  leave  Kanagawa, 
and  that  night  put  the  female  portion  of  his 
family  on  board  the  U.  S.  S.  S.  Wyoming.  Cap- 
tain McDougal  offered  to  take  Mrs.  Brown,  Mrs. 


i82      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

Ballagh,  and  the  children  on  board,  but  Mr. 
Brown  decHned  moving  until  next  day.  Then 
Mr.  Pruyn  came  down  from  Yedo,  his  house 
having  been  burned  eight  days  before,  but 
whether  by  accident  or  design  was  then  unknown. 
Mr.  Pruyn  would  not  leave  Yedo,  and  told  the 
authorities  it  would  take  more  than  one  fire  to 
burn  him  out  of  the  city. 

So  on  June  20,  1863,  on  the  boats  of  the  sloop 
of  war  Wyoming,  the  Browns  crossed  the  bay  to 
Yokohama,  entering  a  hastily  hired  house,  with 
but  a  little  furniture.  The  books  and  much  house- 
hold stuff  were  left  behind.  The  Ballaghs  were 
oflfered  two  rooms  at  the  American  consulate, 
which  they  gladly  occupied. 

Three  days  afterward,  at  Yokohama,  while  the 
four  hundred  and  forty  thousand  dollars  in  sil- 
ver paid  by  the  Satsuma  people  to  the  British  as 
indemnity  after  the  bombardment,  was  being  put 
in  the  holds  of  H.  B.  M.  ships-of-war  Euryakis, 
Encounter,  and  Pearl,  the  imperial  order  for  the 
closing  of  the  ports  and  due  notice  to  foreigners 
to  leave  the  country  was  duly  received.  It  was  a 
case  of  Mrs.  Partington  in  Kioto,  where  hermits 
with  the  mind  of  the  funny  old  lady  imagined 
they  had  triumphed,  and  the  ocean  would  be 
washed  back. 


Life  and  Work  at  Yokohama 


XV 
Life  and  Work  at  Yokohama 

THE  sloop  of  war  Wyoming  missed  the 
Confederate  commerce-destroyer,  but  at 
Shimonoseki,  July  i6,  1863,  Captain 
McDougal  wrote  his  name  large  in  American 
naval  history.* 

Firing  fifty-five  rounds  in  1 10  minutes,  he  en- 
gaged five  batteries  and  three  war  ships,  clear- 
ing out  one  of  the  former  and  sinking  two  of  the 
latter.  It  was  the  most  brilliant  action  of  a 
single  commander  in  a  single  ship  in  all  the 
annals  of  the  American  navy. 

War,  "  the  flash  of  the  sword  in  the  darkness," 
because  phenomenal,  startles  more  than  every- 
day sunshine  and  commonplace  rain,  but  these 
give  food  and  make  the  world.  So  even  more 
important  than  military  and  naval  operations  for 
the  new  life  of  Japan  was  the  leaven  of  education, 
which  the  missionaries  were  hiding  in  the  meal 
of  a  noble  nation.  On  August  25,  1863,  Mr. 
Brown  wrote  of  his  class  of  interpreters  in  the 
government  school,  which  he,  with  his  brethren 
in  the  Presbyterian  and  Reformed  missions,  was 

*See  "  America  in  the  East,"  chap,  xxv, 

»85 


1 86      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

teaching;  the  class  had  increased  to  fifteen, 
one  of  whom  was  a  physician:  *'  I  am  happy  to 
have  an  opportunity  to  deal  with  some  of  the 
better  class  of  men.  I  am  at  liberty  to  teach 
what  and  how  I  please.  It  is  as  easy  to  illus- 
trate the  principles  of  English  grammar,  you 
know,  by  means  of  quotations  from  the  Bible  as 
by  any  other.  Hence  I  have  not  refrained  from 
such  quotations  and  put  them  on  the  blackboard 
as  often  as  they  would  serve  my  convenience." 
Ten  copies  of  "  English  Grammar,"  by  Principal 
Spencer  of  Utica,  N.  Y.,  were  sent  for. 

Mr.  Brown  had  a  long  conversation  with  a 
Japanese,  who  of  his  own  accord  came  to  talk 
on  religion.  For  this  earnest  inquirer  neither 
Buddhism  nor  the  doctrines  of  Shinto  shed  any 
light  upon  the  dark  and  unknown  future.  He 
believed  Christianity  would  meet  his  needs.  He 
thought  there  was  a  difference  between  the 
Americans'  Christianity  and  that  of  the  French 
priest,  and  he  wished  to  understand  more  about 
the  subject. 

"  We  took  up  Genesis  in  the  Chinese  version 
and  read  the  account  of  the  creation.  When  we 
came  to  the  creation  of  man,  the  last  and  noblest 
work  of  God,  he  exclaimed: 

"  *  How  is  this?  Man  is  better  than  trees  and 
animals  or  earth,  etc.  The  Japanese  say  that  he 
was  created  first.* 

"  I  told  him  that  was  a  preposterous  state- 
ment, for  man  must  have  a  place  of  habitation, 


Life  and  Work  at  Yokohama     187 

and  food  and  light  and  air  and  water  and  all  the 
other  things  on  which  his  natural  life  depended, 
or  he  could  not  live.  The  argument  seemed  to 
be  convincing  at  once  to  him  and  he  said,  *  True, 
true;  the  Bible  is  right  and  the  Buddhist  or 
Shinto  works  are  wrong.' " 

This  inquirer  came  often  to  see  Dr.  Brown. 
He  had  little  faith  in  Japanese  veracity,  whether 
as  respects  words  spoken  or  written.  He  knew 
that  the  most  vital  need  of  his  people,  then  as 
now,  was  truth  in  the  inward  parts.  Looking 
over  the  American's  collection  of  Japanese  his- 
torical works,  he  pointed  to  one  which  purported 
to  give  an  account  of  the  conquest  of  Yezo  by 
Yoshitsune,*  which  he  said  was  chiefly  fable. 
This  visit  revealed  the  receptive  condition  of 
many  minds  of  men  in  Japan,  glad  of  the  true 
light,  and  Mr.  Brown  began  again  with  fresh  zeal 
his  study  of  the  Japanese  intellect,  as  photo- 
graphed in  literature  and  revealed  in  the  living 
student.  .    t^ 

His  work  among  the  sailors,  begun  on  his  ar- 
rival in  Japan,  was  continuous  and  often  toilful. 
Many  of  them  attended  his  Bible  readings  or  held 
meetings  for  prayer  at  his  house.  "  Drink  is 
the  pest  of  these  men.  Unless  we  can  keep  that 
from  them  little  good  can  be  done."  He  re- 
ceived one  hundred  pledges  of  total  abstinence, 

*  Probably  also  exploiting  the  idea  that  Yoshitsune, 
or  Gengi  Ke,  was  Genghis  Khan.  See  "  The  Mikado's 
Empire,"  p.  144. 


1 88      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

but  many  of  them  broke  their  pledge.  He  made 
a  proposition  to  open  a  reading-  room  and  place 
of  prayer  for  sailors.  There  could  be  no  re- 
straint to  the  temptations  besetting  sailors  unless 
Christians  were  strong  to  aid  them.  He  sent 
home  for  one  hundred  hymn  books.  He  had 
very  large  congregations,  among  whom  were 
diplomatists  and  naval  officers.  There  were 
resident  in  port,  in  1863,  108  British  and  85 
Americans.  The  Dutch  were  numerous  and  the 
French  increasing.  Some  Prussians  and  Portu- 
guese made  up  the  total,  of  which  two-thirds 
were  English-speaking.  A  year  later  when  the 
allied  fleet  was  in  the  harbor,  he  wrote:  "Con- 
tinued good  work  among  the  sailors  proceeds, 
with  three  new  communicants,  now  numbering 
thirty  in  all.  We  have  a  reading  room  and  tem- 
perance refreshment  house  in  Mr.  Pruyn's  old 
house.  Yet  drunkenness  is  fearfully  prevalent. 
Officers  are  sent  home  for  having  delirium 
tremens,  invalided  to  save  them  from  expul- 
sion from  the  navy,  and  every  case  for  court 
martial  is  caused  by  liquor.  .  .  They  seem  to 
wonder  why  Americans  should  take  so  much 
interest  in  British  sailors,  while  no  British  sub- 
jects seem  to  care  for  their  welfare  and  salva- 
tion." 

On  January  4,  1864,  the  governor  of  Yoko- 
hama made  a  grant  of  land,  lot  200  x  114  feet, 
on  the  public  square,  near  the  site  of  Com- 
modore Perry's  treaty  ground,  in  place  of  the 


Life  and  Work  at  Yokohama     189 

long-promised  lot  on  the  bluff.  On  this  site  the 
Union  Church  still  stands. 

Although  at  home  the  Union  armies  were 
steadily  marching  to  victory,  yet  at  the  ends  of 
the  earth  the  outlook  was  less  assuring.  The 
Confederate  Shenandoah  had  cleared  the  Pacific 
of  the  American  whalers,  and  the  commerce- 
destroyer  Alabama  had  almost  swept  the 
American  flag  off  the  seas.  At  times  the  Ameri- 
cans in  Japan  felt  as  if  they  had  no  country. 
Everything  was  shipped  home  with  the  proviso 
"  if  it  reach  you  at  all."  By  the  American  ship 
Contest  Mr.  Brown  had  sent  home  photographs, 
books,  etc.,  worth  not  less  than  five  hundred  dol- 
lars, "  but  the  Alabama  sent  them  all  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  sea." 

When  the  government  school  for  interpreters 
was  first  opened,  professional  spies,  or  govern- 
ment inspectors,  were  always  in  the  schoolroom, 
but  after  1864  they  came  no  more,  the  Yedo 
government  failing  to  find  either  treason,  strata- 
gems or  spoils  in  the  teaching  of  the  men  of  the 
West.  Probably  these  servants  of  government 
were  there,  less  on  account  of  the  alien  teachers, 
than  of  the  students,  who  were  politically  di- 
vided into  two  parties,  the  Jo-i,  foreigner- 
haters  and  port-closers,  prototypes  of  the 
"  Boxers  "  in  China,  and  the  Progressives,  who 
were  in  favor  of  intercourse  with  foreigners. 
The  pupils  were  males  of  all  ages  and  there 
was  or  could  be  little  school  discipline  of  the 


IQO      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

strict  sort,  though  the  pupils  were  polite 
enough.  All  wore  two  swords  and  pulled  out 
their  tiny  pipes  for  a  whiff  or  two  of  tobacco 
smoke  at  any  time  and  at  all  hours.  Dutch, 
which  had  hitherto  been  the  one  European  lan- 
guage of  culture  and  communication,  was  now 
giving  way  to  English,  the  world-language. 
Two  Japanese  gentlemen  from  the  Dutch  college 
in  Yedo  came  and  sat  through  an  hour  and  a 
half  of  Mr.  Brown's  teaching.  Afterwards,  call- 
ing on  the  American,  they  were  amazed  to  find 
in  his  private  library  so  large  a  collection  of 
books,  thinking  it  equal  to  a  government  library, 
and  still  further  surprised  at  the  number  of  ver- 
sions of  Scripture  in  so  many  languages.  They 
had  themselves  read  some  portions  of  the  Dutch 
Scriptures,  under  the  guidance  of  ''  Tommy," 
then  a  member  of  Dr.  Brown's  arithmetic  class. 
In  August  Mr.  Brown  wrote,  "  We  are  so  pro- 
foundly ignorant  of  the  internal  affairs  of  the 
government  that  none  knows  how  matters  stand 
between  the  Taikun  and  Choshiu."  Far-sighted 
men  like  the  retired  baron  of  Echizen,*  Matsu- 
daira  Shungaku,  former  premier  in  Yedo,  were 
seeing  clearly  the  need  of  political  reconstruc- 
tion. When  Mr.  Brown  read  this  nobleman's 
memorial  to  the  Shogun,  finding  it  to  be  a  very 
noble  document,  he  was  so  much  impressed  by 
its  spirit  that  he  translated  it  in  full.     It  is  the 

*See  "The    Mikado's    Empire"  and  "Verbeck    of 
Japan,"  passim. 


Life  and  Work  at  Yokohama     191 

masterly  manifesto  of  a  far-seeing  statesman, 
many  years  ahead  of  his  time,  and  worthy  of  the 
baron  who  first  introduced  foreign  teachers  in 
his  domain.  The  opening  passage  in  this  docu- 
ment is  worth  copying:  "  Western  foreigners  of 
the  present  day  differ  widely  from  those  of  for- 
mer times.  They  are  much  more  enlightened 
and  liberal.  But  while  other  nations  are  united 
in  the  bonds  of  friendly  intercourse,  Japan, 
standing  apart  in  her  solitude,  has  not  known  the 
changes  of  Heaven's  course  and  has  lost  the 
friendship  of  the  world." 

By  June  30,  1864,  the  Browns  were  in  a  new 
house  built  especially  for  them.  For  thirteen 
months  they  had  moved  from  place  to  place,  to 
the  grief  of  the  scholar  who  coveted  every  mo- 
ment of  his  fleeting  time,  which  in  Japanese 
poetry,  along  with  fading  flowers  and  running 
streams  "  waits  not  for  man." 

Mr.  Brown  wrote:  "  If  you  feel  the  need  of  the 
trial  of  your  patience  just  come  to  Japan  and 
build  one  house,  and  I  am  sure  you  will  be  satis- 
fied. There  is  no  such  thing  as  hurrying  the 
workmen.  They  will  work  as  fast,  or  rather  as 
slowly,  and  as  infrequently,  as  they  please. 
Fretting  does  not  go.  You  will  only  be  laughed 
at  for  your  fretting,  for  a  Japanese  will  laugh  at 
any  and  every  thing  under  the  sun.  I  think  I 
have  seen  them  and  heard  them  tell  of  the  death 
even  of  a  child  with  apparent  glee.  The  beggar 
will  laugh  while  he  solicits  your  charity.     The 


192      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

idolater  laughs  at  the  shrine  of  his  god.  The 
mourner  laughs  at  the  funeral  of  his  friend  or 
relative.  So  you  must  not  expect  to  meet  with 
any  sympathy  in  your  experiment  at  house- 
building, but  must  be  prepared  to  be  laughed  at 
in  your  greatest  worry  and  difficulty." 

For  further  readings  on  this  point,  see  Rud- 
yard  Kipling's  poem  on  "  Hustling  the  East," 
and  Lafcadio  Hearn's  masterly  psychological 
prose  study,  *'  The  Japanese  Smile."  An  Ameri- 
can verse-maker  has  called  Japan  "  The  Land  of 
Approximate  Time." 

THE  LAND  OF  APPROXIMATE  TIME. 

**  Here's  to  the  Land  of  Approximate  Time! 
Where  nerves  are  a  factor  unknown; 
Where  acting  as  balm  are  manners  calm, 
And  seeds  of  sweet  patience  are  sown. 

**  Where  it  is  very  ill-bred  to  go  straight  to  the  point, 
Where  one  bargains  at  leisure  all  day, 
Where  with  method  unique  '  at  once  '  means  a  week, 
In  the  cool,  easy,  Japanese  way. 

*'  Where  every  clock  runs  as  it  happens  to  please, 
And  they  never  agree  on  their  strikes; 
Where  even  the  sun  often  joins  in  the  fun. 
And  rises  whenever  he  likes. 

"Then  here's  to  the  Land  of  Approximate  Time, 
The  Land  of  the  Leisurely  Bow; 
Where  the  overcharged  West  may  learn  how  to  rest. 
The  Land  of  Inconsequent  Now!" 

Japan^s  political  volcano  was  still  rumbling 
and  smoking.     Satsuma  had  settled  down,  but 


< 

I— t 

O 

o 
o 


00 
In3 


Life  and  Work  at  Yokohama     193 

the  Choshiu  men,  with  their  batteries  on  the 
heights  of  Shimonoseki,  were  determined  to  keep 
the  straits  closed.  Mr.  Brown  watched  the 
gathering  of  the  allied  fleet,  British,  French,  and 
Dutch,  with  the  American  sloop-of-war  James- 
town, a  sailing  vessel.  He  did  not  foresee  the 
failure  of  negotiations  which  was  to  issue  in  the 
autumn  war  storm  of  September  5,  1864. 

On  the  Fourth  of  July  the  Jamestown  led  ofif  in 
the  salute,  probably  the  largest  ever  fired  up  to 
that  date  in  the  East,  in  honor  of  the  American 
flag — now  triumphant  at  home  and  abroad. 
Peace — honorable  to  Confederate  and  Federal 
alike — seemed  about  to  dawn,  and  the  "  indis- 
soluble Union  of  indestructible  states "  was 
safe.  Mr.  Edward  A.  Freeman's  "  History  of 
Federal  Government  ...  to  the  Fall  of  the 
United  States  of  America''  was  never  com- 
pleted. At  the  gayly  decorated  American  Con- 
sulate, in  which  the  wife  of  the  consul,  a  Vir- 
ginian, "  was  dressed  with  a  waist  of  blue  be- 
decked with  white  stars,  covered  with  a  light 
gauze  and  a  skirt  of  red  and  white  stripes  per- 
pendicular and  a  coronet  of  blue  encircled  with 
white  stars,  representatives  of  the  eight  nations 
having  treaties  with  Japan,  United  States,  Great 
Britain,  France,  Russia,  Prussia,  Holland,  Port- 
ugal, and  Switzerland  did  honor  to  the  day  and 
gathered  for  a  pleasant  time." 

As  the  Japanese  government  could  not  guard 
the  American  Legation,  or  rather  the  Shogun's 


194      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

government  wanted  all  the  legations  out  of 
Yedo,  General  Pruyn  was  going  back  to  the 
capital  with  the  Jamestown,  and  a  guard  of  sixty 
or  one  hundred  men,  to  insist  on  treaty  rights. 
The  American  Minister  carried  out  his  plan,  but 
thirty  of  the  Jamestown's  men,  under  Lieutenant 
Pearson,  with  a  30-pounder  Parrott  gun,  in  the 
little  propeller  Ta  Kiang,  saw  more  exciting 
service  at  the  bombardment  of  Shimonoseki  by 
the  allied  squadrons.  Side  by  side  with  the 
British,  French,  and  Dutch,  amid  their  heavy 
battering  ships,  like  a  barking  terrier  among 
mastiffs,  Ta  Kiang  lay,  while  the  Yankee  lads, 
with  their  one  muzzle-loader,  actually  beat  in 
rapidity  of  fire  the  breech-loading  Armstrongs.* 
There  appeared  on  the  scene  at  this  juncture 
of  events  a  Japanese,  now,  in  our  century,  the 
best  known  of  all  his  countrymen  in  the  world  at 
large.  Mr.  Brown  wrote :  "  A  week  ago  last 
Sunday  two  Japanese  arrived  in  the  mail 
steamer  from  London.  They  were  dressed  as 
Europeans,  with  stove-pipe  hats  on,  and  came 
on  shore  and  stopped  at  the  house  of  an  English 
merchant  hwog.  to  the  government.  They 
passed  for  Portuguese  clerks  in  the  house.  I  saw 
them  as  they  landed,  and  at  once  suspected  them 
to  be  Japanese  in  disguise.  They  brought  a  let- 
ter of  introduction  to  me,  from  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Muirhead  of  Shanghai,  which  was  sent  to  me, 
but  not  handed  to  me  by  the  bearers.  I  therefore 
*  "  America  in  the  East,"  chap.  xxvi. 


Life  and  Work  at  Yokohama     195 

did  not  meet  with  them.  A  few  days  after  they 
started  for  the  Inland  Sea  in  H.  M.  S.  Barossa 
which,  with  the  Cormorant,  was  sent  there  to 
convey  a  letter  from  the  British  minister  to  the 
Prince  of  Nagato  (Choshiu)  who  has  shut  up  the 
straits  of  Shimonoseki.  It  turns  out  that  these 
two  Japanese  are  retainers  of  that  Prince." 

Readers  of  Japanese  history  will  see  at  once 
that  these  two  young  men  were  none  other  than 
he  who  was  later  called  "  Father  of  the  Consti- 
tution "  (of  1889),  the  Present  Premier  Marquis 
Ito,  LL.  D.,  and  the  other  **  the  white  lily  among 
Japanese  statesmen,"  Count  Inouye. 

These  last  days  of  the  Tycoonal  system  Mr. 
Brown  called  a  very  precarious  situation.  He 
noted  the  "  utter  inability  of  the  foreign  minis- 
ters to  fathom  the  policy  of  the  government, 
characterized  by  deceit  and  concealment  of  all 
the  facts.  It  is  impossible  to  believe  them, 
even  when  they  tell  the  truth.  The  whole  head 
and  heart  of  this  nation  is  corrupt  to  the  last  de- 
gree." With  such  a  big  fleet  in  harbor,  fifteen 
hundred  men  in  camp  on  the  blufif,  and  nine  ves- 
sels and  more  troops  on  their  way  here,  a  war 
storm  was  brewing. 

The  storm  broke  at  Shimqnoseki,  when  the 
Choshiu  batteries  crumbled  under  the  terrific 
fire  of  seventeen  ships  and  two  hundred  and 
eight  guns,  and  the  cannon  of  the  doughty 
clansmen  were  carried  away^as  trophies  and  an 
indemnity  of  three  millions  of  dollars  laid  on  the 


196      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

Yedo  government.  The  air  was  cleared.  The 
first  striking  indication  of  improvement  was  in 
the  way  the  authorities  handled  the  ruffianly  and 
cowardly  assassin  who  waylaid  two  British  offi- 
cers near  Kamakura  and  cut  from  behind,  kill- 
ing both  of  them.  When  arrested,  instead  of 
being  allowed  to  commit  seppuku,  or  honorable 
suicide, — which  was  in  practice  often  the  making 
of  a  villain's  posthumous  reputation, — this  mur- 
derer was  publicly  beheaded  at  Yokohama  in 
presence  of  the  British  troops,  in  the  place  where 
thieves  and  felons  were  put  to  death.  Mr. 
Brown  was  witness  of  the  victim's  ride  to  execu- 
tion and  of  the  vindication  of  justice.* 

So  long  as  drunken  ronins,  the  product  of 
Bushido  gone  to  seed,  were  freely  allowed  to 
win  posthumous  glory  by  being  assassins  in 
the  name  of  patriotism,  there  would  be  no  end 
of  murder.  It  was  as  in  the  story  of  Pliny's  ass, 
which  loaded  with  salt  and  falling  by  chance  in 
the  river,  ever  afterward  plunged  into  the  water 
whenever  it  came  near  a  stream.  Thereupon  its 
owner  packed  the  animal's  panniers  with  sponge. 
The  added  weight  cured  the  beast  of  its  tricks. 
Japan's  cowardly  ruffians,  though  "  gentlemen," 
became  as  jackasses  loaded  with  sponge.  Their 
fun  was  spoiled  when  they  were  ordered  to  the 
execution  ground  of  the  vulgar,  there  to  feel  the 
weight  of  civilization's  displeasure. 

Before  his  death  the  late   Mr.  Fukuzawa  con- 
*See  Adams'  "  History  of  Japan,"  Bk.  III.  chap.  i. 


Life  and  Work  at  Yokohama     197 

demned  the  tendency  of  his  countrymen  to 
glorify  hara-kiri,  or  suicide,  and  to  transfigure 
murder  for  revenge.  Indeed,  not  a  few  Japa- 
nese of  the  twentieth  century  begin  to  see  that  as 
long  as  the  graves  of  the  Forty-seven  Ronins 
are  made  shrines  of  worship  and  a  perpetual 
Decoration  Day,  so  long  will  the  self-justifying 
murderer  flourish.  The  time  will  come  in  en- 
lightened Japan  when  the  murderers'  corner  in 
the  cemetery  of  Sengakuji  in  Tokio  will  be 
closed  as  a  public  nuisance  and  a  school  of 
crime. 

It  was  shortly  after  the  ronin's  decapitation  in 
1865  that  one  of  his  pupils  came  to  ask  Dr. 
Brown  what  he  thought  of  human  nature, 
whether  it  was  good,  neutral,  or  bad  originally. 
He  had  brooded  much  upon  the  subject,  con- 
cluding that  originally  human  nature  was 
neutral. 

Should  one  add  to  these  sketches  of  the  moral 
condition  of  Japan  the  actual  picture  of  beggary, 
outcast  humanity  (eta  and  hinin)  defiling  and 
disfiguring  disease  everywhere  visible,  debased 
Buddhism  and  the  priesthood,  the  need  of 
Japan's  moral  renovation  would  be  more  mani- 
fest. Had  no  other  blessing  come  to  Japan  than 
the  renovation  of  Buddhism  as  a  moral  force,  the 
coming  of  the  missionaries  would  be  justified. 


The  Old  Order  Changing 


XVI 
The  Old  Order  Changing 

THE  summer  of  1865  passed  away. 
Added  to  the  joy  of  the  triumph  of  the 
Union  armies  at  home  was  the  pleasing 
news,  made  known  in  November,  that  the 
Mikado  had  given  formal  sanction  to  the  trea- 
ties. The  '*  Old  Dutch  fashion  "  of  speaking  of 
the  ''  spiritual  "  and  ''  temporal  "  emperor,  and 
the  fiction  of  a  dual  supreme  power  in  Japan, 
was  about  over.  Mr.  Brown  predicted  that  no 
daimo,  or  other  subject,  would  hereafter  chal- 
lenge the  rights  of  foreigners  in  Japan.  The 
conceit  of  single  Japanese  clans  in  supposing 
that  they  could  oppose  the  foreigners  had  been 
taken  out  of  them.  All  signs  as  discerned  by 
the  far-seeing  pointed  to  the  passing  of  the  old 
order  of  things  and  the  coming  of  the  new  day 
of  unity  and  closer  nationality. 

The  coming  of  the  new  British  Minister  to 
Japan,  Sir  Harry  Parkes,  from  Shanghai,  June 
2y,  put  a  new  face  on  diplomatic  affairs.  Mr. 
Brown  had  known  him  in  the  early  forties,  as 
a  rosy-faced  boy  in  China,  and  had  even  then  a 
very  high  opinion  of  his  abilities.  Now  he  gave 
Sir  Harry  great  credit  for  attempting  to  get  the 


20X 


202      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

imperial  assent  to  the  treaties.  This  British 
Minister  set  himself  at  once  to  find  where  the 
source  of  authority  in  Japan  lay;  and  he  found 
it.  "  It  seems  now  as  if  we  had  entered  on  a 
new  phase  of  affairs  in  this  country." 

With  his  fellow-worker  Verbeck,  Mr.  Brown 
believed,  and  believing  made  no  haste,  except  in 
harder  toil,  that  "  When  Japan  is  fairly  opened, 
there  will  be  an  amazing  quick  and  large  work 
of  grace  all  over  the  land." 

At  the  opening  of  1866,  in  a  printed  circular, 
dated  Yokohama,  January  14,  the  missionaries 
sent  out  an  address  to  God's  people  through- 
out the  world,  asking  their  prayers  in  a  special 
manner  for  Japan,  and  showing  also  the  prog- 
ress that  had  been  made.  One  hundred  young 
men  of  the  higher  class  were  to  be  taught  in 
English,  and  the  missionaries  were  to  have 
charge  of  the  work.  Dr.  Hepburn's  Japanese- 
English  dictionary  of  about  forty  thousand 
words  was  nearly  ready  for  the  press.  Groups 
of  from  two  to  three,  or  six  or  seven  young  men 
came  to  the  missionaries'  house  to  read  the  Eng- 
lish Bible,  preferring  this  to  the  study  of  school- 
books.  "  These  intelligent  young  men  frequently 
express  their  earnest  desire  that  the  day  may 
soon  come  when  all  their  countrymen  shall  have 
the  Holy  Scriptures  and  the  free  political  institu- 
tions of  which  they  are  the  basis."  The  call  was 
to  earnest  prayer  that  the  last  obstacle  to  the 
spread    of    the    gospel    might    be    removed. 


The  Old  Order  Changing        203 

Hitherto  every  inhabitant  must  be  registered  at 
some  Buddhist  or  Shinto  temple,  or  else  be  de- 
nied a  decent  burial.  "  Thus  every  Japanese  is 
within  the  grasp  of  the  iron  hand  of  the  govern- 
ment," and  under  menace  of  death  if  suspected 
of  favoring  the  Christian  religion. 

No  one  can  know  a  people  until  he  has  learned 
their  history — the  mirror  of  their  experience. 
To  qualify  him  more  thoroughly  for  the  work  of 
translating,  Mr.  Brown  began  a  course  of  read- 
ing in  Japanese  history.  In  the  school  he  taught 
physics  and  grammar.  Two  of  his  advanced 
pupils  were  translating  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  one  proposing  to  publish  his 
translation  with  comments.  Indeed  this  is  the 
document  which  the  Japanese  studied  first  and 
longest.  He  hoped  God  would  spare  his  life 
long  enough  to  accomplish  something  that 
should  last  and  become  to  the  Japanese  people 
what  the  English  Bible  is  to  the  English-speak- 
ing people.  Teaching  occupied  half  the  working 
hours  of  five  days  and  the  labor  of  writing  ser- 
mons all  of  Saturday.  He  longs  to  drop  some 
of  these  occupations,  and  give  himself  wholly  to 
translations,  but  he  girds  up  his  loins  and  spurs 
into  the  work  again,  fearing  that  he  is  indulg- 
ing in  an  indolent  spirit.  He  wondered  whether 
the  Church  was  prepared  for  a  great  opening  in 
Japan. 

Meanwhile  it  was  whispered  that  Sir  Harry 
Parkes  wanted   the  government   to   send  forty 


204      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

young  men  to  be  educated  in  England.  In  June, 
1866,  it  was  notified  from  Yedo  that  Japanese 
were  allowed  to  go  abroad.  This  was  a  positive 
indication  of  advance,  and  partly  the  result  of 
the  moral  persuasion  of  the  British  Minister.  A 
dozen  years  ago  death  by  decapitation  was  the 
punishment  of  a  native  if  he  sought  to  go 
abroad.  The  movement  indicated  also  an 
internal  pressure  from  the  people  upon  the  gov- 
ernment. It  demonstrated  also  what  had  never 
been  conspicuous  among  the  Chinese — a  desire 
to  learn  from,  and  a  respect  for,  foreign  nations. 
All  this  was  in  accordance  with  the  statement  of 
the  lord  of  Echizen  in  his  memorial  a  year  or 
two  ago.  Such  a  long  stride  Mr.  Brown  hoped 
would  stimulate  prayer  at  home.  God's  hand 
was  to  be  seen  in  the  movements  in  Japan. 
"  Opening,  opening,  and  overturning  "  was  the 
law  of  the  time. 

Again  he  expressed  his  high  ideal  of  a  mis- 
sionary: "You  cannot  too  soon  send  us  good, 
sensible,  educated,  gentlemanly  men,  men  who 
will  command  the  respect  of  foreigners  and 
natives,  men  who  will  make  their  mark  at  home. 
Send  no  others.  .  .  Let  us  have  the  right  men 
in  this  great  field,  with  wives,  if  they  have  them, 
who  are  helpmates  for  such  as  they,  and  you 
will  soon  see  the  result.  .  .  Again  and  again 
have  I  heard  of  its  being  said  by  merchants  in 
foreign  lands  and  travelers,  that  this  and  that 
missionary  came  abroad  because  he  could  not 


The  Old  Order  Changing        205 

get  a  living  at  home,  and  sometimes  there  has 
been  too  near  an  approach  to  the  truth." 

In  national  politics  the  Tycoon  was  hesitating 
to  invade  rebellious  Choshiu,  for  the  latter  v^as 
on  his  own  ground  and  base  of  supplies.  Sir 
Harry  Parkes,  determined  to  solve  the  problem 
of  Mikadoism,  thrust  in  the  probe  to  know  where 
the  real  power  in  Japan  lay.  Making  a  visit  to 
Satsuma,  he  enjoyed  a  fine  entertainment,  fur- 
nished by  the  daimio,  and  a  hunting  bout  in 
which  seven  deer  and  four  wild  boars  were 
bagged.  The  English  marines  drilled  for  the 
Japanese  and  the  Satsuma  men  drilled  for  the 
British.  The  lord  of  Uwajima  in  Shikoku  had 
refused  to  send  troops  to  fight  Choshiu.  Parkes 
also  visited  this  nobleman,  and  was  treated  with 
great  cordiality.  Forty  of  the  ladies  of  his 
palace  came  out  to  meet  Lady  Parkes. 

This  was  a  grand  stroke  of  policy  on  the  part 
of  Sir  Harry.  He  had  explored  the  unknown 
regions  of  "  darkest  Japan  "  and  was  now  able 
to  see  which  was  to  be  in  time  the  winning  side. 
I  heard  him  tell  the  story  in  detail,  at  his  own 
dinner  table,  in  1873. 

The  light  of  the  long,  bright  day  of  Japan  was 
breaking.  The  lord  of  Satsuma  took  the  hint 
and  sent  three  of  his  own  young  men,  and  two 
others  from  a  neighboring  fief,  to  study  in  Eu- 
rope. They  went  in  disguise  as  foreigners. 
Years  afterwards  I  knew  them  as  college  mates 
at  Rutgers. 


2o6      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

Another  lad,  Mr.  "  Ashiwara,"  sailed  from 
Yokohama  in  an  American  bark  August  27, 
1866,  to  Monson,  Mass.,  and  Mr.  Brown  hoped 
he  would  not  receive  too  much  attention,  but 
study  hard  and  come  back  to  be  useful  in  Japan. 
Inquiries  were  coming  from  other  daimios  as  to 
the  cost  of  an  education  abroad.  By  the  end 
of  the  year  1867  there  were  six  Japanese  stu- 
dents in  Monson.  Almost  simultaneously,  New 
Brunswick,  N.  J.,  and  Monson,  Mass.,  became 
centers  for  the  education  of  the  Japanese  in 
America.  Those  first  sent  by  Satsuma  came 
afterwards  to  New  Brunswick  and  entered  Rut- 
gers College.* 

In  the  civil  war  which  followed  Choshiu 
was  victorious,  and  the  prestige  of  the  Yedo  gov- 
ernment was  ruined.  General  Van  Valkenburg, 
the  new  American  Minister  to  Japan,  arrived  in 
the  bark  Swallow.  Foreigners  thought  our 
government  short  of  men-of-war,  in  thus  com- 
pelling the  ministers  to  charter  merchant  ships, 
but  in  port  lay  the  Hartford,  Wachusett,  and 
Wyoming,  and  Admiral  Bell — soon  to  lose  his 
life  by  drowning  off  the  bar  at  Osaka — with  his 
ships  and  a  large  escort  of  marines  inducted  the 
new  envoy  in  the  United  States  Legation  in 
Yedo.  In  that  city  the  Americans  noticed  a 
great  relaxation  in  customs,  the  adoption  of 
foreign  dress,  trousers  instead  of  skirts,  gaiters 
and  boots  instead  of  sandals,  and  the  troops  in 
♦See  "  The  Rutgers  Graduates  in  Japan." 


The  Old  Order  Changing        207 

semi-foreign  dress.  Many  natives  said,  "Japan 
will  soon  be  opened."  It  began  to  look  this 
way.  The  old  Mikado  Komei  died  in  January, 
1867,  and  the  present  emperor,  Mutsuhito,  a  boy 
of  fourteen,  became  emperor.  It  was  during  this 
year,  1867,  that  the  Rev.  Samuel  Beal,  an  Eng- 
lish scholar,  wrote  a  pamphlet  proving  that  the 
Mikado,  and  not  the  Shogun,  was  the  real  ruler 
of  Japan. 

The  new  Taikun,  Keiki,  was  studying  Eng- 
lish and  his  physician  was  a  former  pupil  of  Mr. 
Brown.  "  It  could  be  no  easy  task,"  he  wrote, 
"  for  the  Taikun  to  change  the  social  fabric 
of  a  nation  so  numerous  and  so  ancient  as 
this  is." 

A  picture  of  Dr.  Brown  is  thus  given  by  the 
Hon.  Ando  Taro  of  Tokio,  formerly  the  Japa- 
nese consul  at  Honolulu: 

"  From  among  the  students  of  this  school 
many  distinguished  men  have  come  out  to  serve 
this  new  empire  in  the  course  of  the  development 
of  modern  civilization,  such  as  Baron  Otori,  a 
celebrated  general  of  the  Restoration,  known  as 
the  Lee  of  Japan  and  afterwards  minister  to 
China  and  Korea,  etc.;  but  among  them  I  am 
happy  to  note  there  are  many  who  have  been 
and  still  are  serving  the  country  for  the  still 
more  important  work,  the  propagation  of  the 
will  of  God,  the  gospel,  and  temperance.  In 
fact  the  memory  of  this  worthy  doctor  [Brown] 
will  be  long  revered,  not  only  by  the  students, 


2o8      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

but  many  others  who  had  chances  to  associate 
with  him." 

Mr.  Ando  further  adds:  "It  was  about  the 
year  1865  that  I  met  Dr.  S.  R.  Brown  in  a 
school  at  Yokohama  belonging  to  the  Custom- 
house, and  though  very  poorly  provided,  it  was 
then  the  only  English  school  in  Japan  in  which 
instruction  was  received  directly  from  foreign 
teachers.  These  were  all  Americans,  consisting 
of  Drs.  Brown  and  Hepburn,  and  Rev.  J.  H. 
Ballagh  and  David  Thompson.  All  the  teachers 
were  kind  and  diligent,  but  Dr.  Brown  was  par- 
ticularly noted  for  his  strict  and  skillful  methods 
of  teaching  pronunciation  and  grammar.  The 
sound  th  was  very  hard  for  Japanese  to  utter,  and 
the  doctor  trained  them  by  showing  the  motion 
of  his  mouth;  or,  he  would  come  to  the  student 
and  hold  the  point  of  his  tongue  so  as  to  place  it 
under  the  upper  teeth.  Having  never  been 
trained  to  recitations,  this  was  the  most  difficult 
task  for  the  student. 

"  The  majority  of  students  in  this  government 
school  at  Yokohama  were  not  boys,  but  grown 
men,  including  customhouse  officers  and  various 
professionals.  When  the  lazy  or  unprepared 
found  the  doctor  calling  on  the  right  of  the  line, 
they  generally  placed  themselves  in  the  middle, 
so  that  by  counting  paragraphs  they  could  get 
the  one  they  wished  to  recite  upon.  One  day 
the  smart  teacher  with  his  penetrating  eyes, 
which  he  often  lifted  up  above  his  glasses,  instead 


The  Old  Order  Changing        209 

of  pursuing- his  long-adopted  course,  directed  the 
recitations  to  begin  from  the  left.  This  caused 
the  students  no  small  confusion,  but  it  was  worse 
for  them  when  he  called  on  the  one  in  the  middle 
to  come  next.  Such  careful  methods  brought 
about  very  successful  results,  not  only  in  their 
intellectual,  but  in  their  moral  training,  for  he 
taught  them  to  be  diligent  and  honest." 

This  first  English  school  in  Japan  was  called 
the  Shubunkwan.  The  official  head  of  the  school 
was  Kawamura  Kaizo.  In  the  photograph 
taken  several  years  later,  Kawamura  sits  at  Dr. 
Brown's  side,  and  beside  Miss  Brown  is  the 
governor  of  Kanagawa  Ken,  Oye  Taku;  and 
among  his  pupils  are  President  Ibuka,  Mr.  Maki 
and  Mr.  Kumano,  and  a  large  number  of  those 
who  are  now  in  high  official  position,  including 
Mr.  Suzuki  Keiroku.  So  writes  Mr.  Ogawa 
Yoshiyasu,  September  9,  1901. 


In  the  United  States  Again 


XVII 
In  the  United  States  Again 

IN  May,  1867,  the  routine  of  Dr.  Brown's  life 
was  broken  by  fire.  In  a  few  minutes, 
house,  furniture,  library,  manuscripts,  the 
notes  and  jottings  of  years,  disappeared  in  the 
flames.  Fortunately  he  had  taken  out  insurance 
on  his  property  about  five  months  before,  but 
being  without  a  home  or  books  for  study,  and 
the  time  being  propitious,  he  decided  to  visit 
America.  At  this  time  his  son  Robert  was  in 
Rutgers  College,  and  he  wished  to  put  his 
daughter  Hattie  in  school  also.  He  arrived 
home  as  "  Doctor "  Brown,  the  University  of 
the  City  of  New  York  having  in  June,  1867,  con- 
ferred upon  him  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Divinity.  This  time  he  took  his  first  ocean 
voyage  in  a  steamer,  coming  home  by  way  of 
the  Pacific  Ocean  and  the  Isthmus  of  Panama. 

How  he  looked  on  his  arrival  to  Rev.  Joseph 
Twitchell,  then  the  young  and  popular  pastor  of 
the  Asylum  Hill  Congregational  Church  at 
Hartford,  but  three  years  in  the  ministry,  is  thus 
told  by  him: 

3Z3 


214      ^  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

"  I  remember  that  Dr.  Brown  was  notably 
well  dressed,  to  his  credit,  and  that  he  wore  a 
diamond  on  his  shirt  front  (not  at  all  to  his  dis- 
credit). I  remember  that  he  urged  me  to  go  to 
Japan  with  him,  pleading  that  the  opportunity 
there  opened  of  investing  my  life  in  Christian 
service  was  quite  unprecedented  and  incom- 
parable. Returning  subsequently  to  America, 
he  told  me  that  he  regretted  it  had  not  been  in 
his  power  to  take  me  with  him  by  force — so 
thankful  would  I  have  been  to  him  for  doing  so 
when  I  got  there  and  saw  the  chance  to  work." 

Scarcely  had  the  sunny  missionary  reached  his 
native  soil  than  he  received  a  call  from  his  old 
flock  at  Owasco  Outlet  to  be  their  pastor.  This 
would  give  him  an  opportunity  also  to  send  his 
daughter  to  Auburn  High  School.  He  had  ex- 
pected, however,  to  be  summoned  at  once  by  the 
Board  to  present  the  claims  of  missions  to  the 
churches.  Before  accepting  the  call  to  a  pastor- 
ate and  settling  down  to  rural  life  and  to  crops 
and  books,  he  wrote  to  the  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions  on  January  28,  1868.  He  thought  the 
church  machinery  for  benevolent  purposes  rather 
rusty  and  out  of  gear.  It  was  a  mistake  in 
policy  that  kept  returned  missionaries  from 
work  among  the  people,  and  from  telling  them 
how  the  kingdom  of  Christ  was  coming.  A  live 
man,  fresh  from  heathenism,  would  awaken  an 
interest  on  the  subject  of  missions  among  the 
churches,  being  much  more  effective  than  the 


In  the  United  States  Again       215 

printed  page,  even  as  an  earnest,  living  preacher 
is  better  than  a  printed  sermon. 

From  Lake  View  Parsonage  January  18,  1869, 
Dr.  Brown  wrote  to  the  editor  of  the  Northern 
Christian  Advocate  concerning  Japanese  con- 
verts. For  eight  years  he  had  labored  in  Japan 
doing  pioneer's  work,  and  had  known  of  but  one 
native's  acceptance  of  Christianity.  In  this  let- 
ter he  showed  that  the  first  Japanese,  Neesima, 
who  received  baptism  in  the  United  States,  was 
admitted  to  the  church  of  Christ  at  Andover, 
Mass.,  in  1865-66,  about  the  same  time  that  Dr. 
Brown's  and  Mr.  Ballagh's  former  teacher,  Mr. 
Yano  Riu,  in  October,  1864,  was  baptized,  this 
latter  being  the  first  public  baptism  of  a  Japanese 
in  his  own  land,  in  modern  times;  then  at  Na- 
gasaki on  May  20,  1866,  Mr.  Verbeck's  converts 
were  baptized.  By  January  18,  1869,  there  were 
seven  Japanese  Bible  Christians  in  Japan,  and 
one  in  the  United  States.  At  New  Brunswick, 
N.  J.,  Nagai,  baptized  by  Dr.  Tiffany  in  the 
Methodist  Church,  and  Sugiura,  in  the  Reformed 
Church  under  Dr.  C.  D.  Hartranft,  Kudo  at 
Monson,  Mass.,  and  lastly  Ohara  Reinoske, 
made  in  all  twelve  or  thirteen  natives  of  Japan 
who  had  made  a  Christian  confession.*  The 
morning  of  hope  was  breaking  on  a  long,  bright 
day  of  glory. 

When  the  year  1869  opened^  Dr.  Brown  was 

*  See  Verbeck's  "History  of  Protestant  Missions  in 
Japan,'*  1883. 


2i6      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

anxious  to  get  back  to  his  work  in  Japan.  On 
the  9th  of  January  he  wrote  to  the  Board,  hoping 
to  be  sent  next  summer  by  the  new  Pacific  rail- 
way. He  wanted  to  give  all  his  time  to  the 
translation  of  the  Scriptures.  In  the  years  from 
1859  to  iS6yht  had  had  too  many  things  to  do:  a 
church  to  care  for,  mission  finances  to  attend  to, 
schools  to  teach,  work  of  the  Seamen's  Friend 
Society  to  carry  on,  while  his  own  private  affairs 
consumed  too  much  time.  Now  fifty-eight 
years  old,  his  children  grown  up,  he  was  still  a 
good  insurance  risk,  but  he  realized  that  not 
many  years  of  work  were  before  him.  He 
wished  to  get  the  Bible  into  print  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. 

Good  tidings  came  in  the  mail  from  Japan  of 
June  15,  1869.  His  son-in-law,  Mr.  J.  C.  Low- 
der,  British  consul  at  the  newly  opened  port  of 
Niigata,  on  the  west  coast,  wrote,  stating  that  the 
Japanese  authorities,  former  pupils  of  Dr. 
Brown,  wanted  a  school  opened,  with  their  for- 
mer teacher  as  principal,  the  salary  to  be  three 
thousand  dollars  a  year.  Passage  and  traveling 
expenses  would  be  paid.  The  first  officer,  a  for- 
mer governor  of  Kanagawa,  wanted  books  and 
apparatus  for  thirty  pupils.  The  place  was  not 
overrun  with  Europeans.  On  the  i6th  of  April, 
1869,  the  total  foreign  population  in  Niigata  was 
three,  the  consul,  his  constable,  and  a  German. 

These  facts,  as  stated,  so  far  from  being  deter- 
rent, only  acted  as  a  spur  to  desire.     Dr.  Brown 


In  the  United  States  Again       217 

was  only  too  glad  to  go  where  he  would  be  free 
from  many  foreigners,  with  the  distractions  and 
obstructions  to  missionary  work.  He  could 
give  much  time  to  translation. 

Happily  the  Board  gave  consent,  and  with  his 
wife  and  Miss  Mary  E.  Kidder  (now  Mrs.  E. 
Rothesay  Miller)  he  crossed  the  continent  on  the 
new  transcontinental  railway,  sailed  on  the  Ore- 
gonian  August  4,  and  arrived  at  Yokohama  Au- 
gust 26,  1869. 

They  found  Mr.  Lowder  in  the  British  Con- 
sulate at  Yokohama,  he  having  been  there  ten 
days  in  place  of  Consul  Fletcher,  who  had  just 
died.  Great  political  changes  had  taken  place, 
the  civil  war  was  over  and  there  was  a  New 
Japan,  though  many  were  still  discontented. 
Greatest  of  all  the  visible  changes  was  the 
name  and  reality  of  the  city  on  the  Su- 
mida,  the  largest  in  the  empire.  It  was  no 
longer  Yedo,  the  city  of  the  camp,  "  the  capital 
of  the  Tycoon,"  but  Tokio,  city  of  the  throne 
and  seat  of  the  emperor.  The  new  chronologi- 
cal period  beginning  with  1868  was  named  Meiji, 
or  the  Era  of  Enlightenment  and  Civilization. 

Not  a  few  of  Dr.  Brown's  pupils  were  in  office. 
On  the  deck  of  the  new  ship  of  state  he  could 
recognize  at  least  a  score.  One  came  to  get 
him  to  be  a  professor  in  Tokio  University,  an- 
other wanted  him  to  open  a  school  at  Yoko- 
hama. He  determined  to  press  on  to  Niigata, 
taking  the  land  route,  over  the  mountains. 


Overland  to  Niigata 


XVIII 
Overland  to  Niigata 

IN  palanquins  with  bearers,  interpreter,  and 
escorting  officers,  the  journey  from  Tokio 
across  the  main  island  from  Yokohama  to 
Niigata  over  the  Central  Mountain  region,  and 
through  some  of  the  most  glorious  scenery  in 
the  world,  was  richly  enjoyed  by  the  whole 
party. 

This  overland  journey  via  Takasaki,  Annaka, 
Nagano,  and  Naosetsu  occupied  sixteen  days. 
The  route  taken  is  now  for  the  most  part  that 
followed  by  the  Kariuzawa-Naosetsu  railway,  the 
most  picturesque  in  Japan,  but  in  1870  railways 
were  unknown.  The  journey  was  through  the 
silk  region,  Neesima's  birthplace,  the  glorious 
high  sanctuary  of  God's  mighty  mountains  in 
Shinano,  past  shrines  famous  in  legend  and  local 
lore,  and  amid  scenes  glorified  by  romance  and 
poetry,  and  this  scholar,  well  read  in  the  native 
lore,  lover  of  nature  and  of  Heaven's  beauty  on 
earth,  was  just  the  man  to  enjoy  what  he  was  to 
see.  The  six  knights,  or  armed  guards  who 
acted  as  escorts,  did  everything  to  make  the 
journey   agreeable.     Each   norimonOy   or   palan- 

23Z 


222      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

quin,  was  borne  by  from  four  to  six  men,  accord- 
ing to  the  difficulty  of  the  roads.  Only  two 
foreigners,  Mr.  Lowder  and  Dr.  Willis,  had  ever 
before  crossed  the  country  on  the  line  of  their 
route.  The  bearers  in  the  baggage  train  num- 
bered about  fifty.  Honda,  a  young  samurai  of 
Uwajima,  the  prince  in  charge  of  Yedo,  tired  of 
fighting  in  the  civil  war,  wanted  to  study  and 
went  with  the  party,  always  going  ahead  to  make 
provision.  As  in  the  England  of  the  Tudor  and 
Pilgrim  Father  era,  there  were  no  post  offices  or 
well-made  roads  as  in  modern  days,  but  there 
were  posts  or  relay  stations — tateba — at  which 
travelers,  and  especially  persons  on  government 
business,  could  secure  pack  horses  or  bearers, 
which  were  always  in  readiness.  At  the  en- 
trance of  every  town  and  village  the  cortege  was 
met  at  the  entrance  by  officers,  who  preceded 
the  train  into  the  main  street,  crying  out  to  the 
crowds  of  curious  people  to  sit  down  on  their 
hams  and  heels. 

Dr.  Brown's  journal  in  pencil,  written  at  An- 
naka,  October  13,  reads  as  follows: 

"  Resting  at  the  Honjin.  Received  a  photo- 
graph of  Neesima  and  Amherst  College,  by  the 
hand  of  someone.  Recognized  both  at  once  and 
was  told  that  Neesima's  younger  brother,  father, 
and  grandfather  resided  in  Annaka.  The  first 
came  in  at  my  request,  an  unexpected  meeting 
truly.  As  we  passed  on,  went  by  the  grand- 
father's house  and  he  came  out  to  meet  us.    A 


Overland  to  Niigata  223 

fine  old  gentleman,  eighty-four  years  old.  He 
presented  me  with  a  small  box  containing  a 
small  teacup.  He  seemed  greatly  pleased  and 
overcome  at  meeting  me.  Neesima's  father  fol- 
lowed us  and  overtook  us  at  the  next  tateha. 
He  too  was  much  pleased  to  see  us,  and  shed 
tears  on  the  occasion.  I  told  him  about  his  son's 
welfare,  and  that  I  had  no  doubt  when  he  came 
back,  his  father  would  be  delighted  at  his  im- 
provement by  education.  I  sent  the  grandfather 
a  twenty-five-cent  piece  and  gave  the  father  a 
ten-cent  piece  as  a  little  memento,  that  being  all 
that  I  had  to  give  them.  This  meeting  of 
Neesima's  friends  was  a  very  unlooked  for  occa- 
sion, and  one  that  seemed  very  providential. 
Shall  write  to  Neesima  of  all  this." 

At  Sakamoto  they  began  the  ascent  of  the 
famous  and  often  restless  Asamayama,  then 
smoking  and  emitting  steam  also.  The  road  lay 
over  fields  of  pumice.  Dr.  Brown  with  his 
barometer  measured  the  altitudes.  The  capitals 
of  the  daimios,  or  feudal  barons,  with  their 
strongholds,  moats,  walls,  and  towers  at  Ko- 
mora,  Uyeda,  and  other  places  were  most  inter- 
esting, and  of  several  seen  in  the  sunlight,  he 
could  say  in  Tennyson's  phrase,  **  The  splendor 
falls  on  castle  walls."  Now  in  1902  most  of  these 
relics  of  feudalism  have  disappeared,  having 
been  turned  into  public  gardens,  or  into  private 
grounds  or  railway  property.  In  one  place  a  pri- 
vate gentleman,  eager  for  the  inventions  of  the 


2  24      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

West,  railways  and  telegraphs,  entertained  them 
elegantly  in  his  own  home.  At  Nagano  he  saw 
and  was  shown  over  the  great  temple  of  Zenkoji, 
famed  all  over  the  empire,  and  recalling  Asakusa 
in  Tokio,  by  the  high  priest  in  his  robes.  Pur- 
chasing a  little  mirror  in  one  of  the  shops  for  a 
souvenir,  he  found,  when  in  his  inn  after  supper, 
that  the  tradesman  had  sent  back  an  isshiu  (half 
dime)  because  he  had  overcharged  by  mistake. 
The  domine  returned  it  again,  in  appreciation  of 
the  shopman's  honesty. 

In  many  of  the  inns  the  cards,  autographs,  or 
compliments  of  visitors,  written  on  board  or 
paper,  are  hung  up  in  pride  by  the  innkeeper. 
At  one  place  he  wrote  on  paper  for  framing: 

From  Yedo  to  Furuma 
Japan  is  all  beautiful, 
Its  people  are  hospitable 
And  very  polite.     S.  R.  B. 

Down  a  steep,  rugged,  and  zig-zag  mountain 
path  they  now  descended  to  the  seacoast. 
Takata  was  a  very  large  castle  town  with  covered 
sidewalks.  Occasionally  a  man  in  black  broad- 
cloth suit,  or  with  a  red  blanket  on,  was  seen. 
All  were  polite.  The  only  one  insolent  fel- 
low seen  was  drunk.  By  the  seaside  they  could 
look  over  at  Sado  island,  in  the  blue  distance. 
Two  or  three  villages,  the  scenes  of  bloody  bat- 
tles and  which  were  burnt  during  the  late  civil 
war,  were  in  process  of  rebuilding.     This  sea- 


Overland  to  Nilgata  225 

beach  road  was  full  of  fascinating  scenery.  On 
October  24  they  arrived  at  Niigata.  The 
British  consular  agent,  calling  on  them,  handed 
them  a  letter  brought  by  the  steamer  Ocean 
Queen,  then  in  the  offing.  The  little  journal  con- 
cludes: 

**  Praised  be  the  Lord  for  all  the  pleasures  and 
the  prosperity  attending  our  sixteen  days'  jour- 
ney across  Japan.  May  our  coming  be  a  bless- 
ing to  this  people  in  every  possible  way." 

The  American  missionary's  travel  as  a  govern- 
ment official,  in  comfortable  style,  was  com- 
mented on  in  America  at  the  time  as  something 
in  contrast  with  his  Master  or  even  Francis 
Xavier,  but  there  was  no  ground  for  just  criti- 
cism. It  was  exactly  what  was  appropriate, 
without  being  extravagant. 

After  three  days  in  a  native  ina  they  entered 
the  house  prepared  for  them.  It  was  on  the  out- 
side of  the  town,  sheltered  from  the  strong  sea 
winds  by  three  parallel  ranges  of  sand  hills  be- 
tween house  and  beach.  It  was  therefore  well 
sheltered  from  fires,  iwhich  usually  sweep  a  whole 
town.  There  were  thirty-six  Buddhist  temples 
in  Niigata,  one  entire  street  being  lined  with 
them,  and  one,  a  quarter-mile  from  the  house, 
had  been  selected  as  a  temporary  school  build- 
ing. In  another  was  the  reputed  relic  of  a  bam- 
boo staff  which  the  founder  of  the  Shin  sect, 
Shinran,  had  stuck  in  the  ground.  In  proof  of 
the  truth  of  his  doctrines   the  staff  grew  leaves 


2  26      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

and  branches,  exactly  as  in  the  case  of  a  similar 
miracle  at  the  temple  of  Zempukuji  in  Tokio,  oc- 
cupied by  the  United  States  legation,  notwith- 
standing,'as  their  own  Japanese  proverb  declares, 
**  Good  doctrine  needs  no  miracle." 

A  lad  fourteen  years  old,  son  of  a  former 
officer  of  Niigata,  had  walked  all  the  way  from 
Yokohama,  284  miles,  to  live  with  Dr.  Brown, 
and  seemed  perfectly  happy.  In  the  govern- 
ment offices  the  master  found  two  or  three  inter- 
preters who  had  been  his  former  pupils,  and  who 
were  delighted  to  see  their  honored  teacher.  The 
head  interpreter  was  teaching  ten  or  fifteen  lads, 
who  were  now  to  be  turned  over  to  Dr.  Brown. 
Promptly  his  furniture,  books,  and  provisions 
arrived  safely  from  New  York.  While  he  was 
surprised  to  find  the  Japanese  could  live  in  such 
cold  weather  in  their  open  and  draughty  houses, 
they,  on  the  other  hand,  were  amazed  that  for- 
eigners should  have  so  much  furniture  in  their 
houses.  As  box  after  box  was  opened,  their  ex- 
clamations were  very  amusing.  A  cooking 
stove  was  a  great  curiosity  and  had  many  visi- 
tors. The  library  seemed  to  be  an  extraordi- 
narily large  one,  and  remarks  were  made  that 
the  Westerners  had  got  the  start  of  Japan  by 
over  eight  hundred  years,  but  they  hoped 
Japan  would  by  and  by  overtake  them.  As 
usual  the  government  kept  its  contract  perfectly, 
paying  promptly  and  in  full  all  his  traveling  ex- 
penses from  home,  amounting  to  $1054. 


Overland  to  Niigata  227 

Seventeen  foreigners  were  living  at  Niigata, 
but  the  bar  at  the  entrance  to  the  harbor  was  a 
continual  menace  to  life  and  a  cemetery  was  one 
of  the  first  requisites.  On  account  of  this  the 
place  had  no  future  as  a  port  of  foreign  com- 
merce. On  November  6,  1869,  Dr.  Brown  was 
called  on  to  bury  one  Englishman  and  three  Ma- 
lays. With  four  others — a  Japanese,  a  Swede 
and  two  Malays,  eight  persons  in  all — these  un- 
fortunates, in  attempting  to  cross  the  bar  in  the 
night  after  dark,  were  drowned  in  the  breakers. 
A  bark  from  Choshiu  had  also  stranded  and  was 
liable  soon  to  break  up. 

Although  Dr.  Brown  received  an  imposing 
document  containing  the  certificate  of  Hamilton 
Fish,  Secretary  of  State,  and  dated  Washington, 
March  31,  1870,  appointing  him  to  be  the  con- 
sular agent  of  the  United  States  in  Niigata,  he 
never  had  occasion  to  use  it,  since  there  were  no 
Americans  outside  of  his  own  family  in  the 
place.  The  possession  of  the  document  was  an 
honor,  and  intended  by  his  friends  for  his  own 
protection  as  well  as  for  that  of  any  stray  Ameri- 
cans in  Niigata. 

This  western  coast  city,  situated  on  a  narrow 
strip  of  land  between  the  Shinano  and  the  sea, 
covers  over  a  square  mile  or  more  and  consists 
chiefly  of  five  parallel  streets,  crossed  at  right 
angles  by  smaller  thoroughfares,  which  are 
watered  by  canals  fed  from  the  river.  There  is 
no  sea  view  except  from  the  top  of  the  land 


228      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

ridges.  Rain  falling  soon  sank  in  the  sandy 
soil.  The  Browns  soon  learned  the  function  of 
the  overhanging  roofs,  which  they  noticed  were 
prolonged  far  out  over  the  sidewalks.  In  win- 
ter when  the  snow  fell  sometimes  six  and  ten 
feet  deep,  one  had  to  walk  under  these  eaves. 
The  summers  were  cool,  the  thermometer  rarely 
rising  above  92°.  It  was  a  place  of  little  manu- 
facturing, except  of  a  coarse  kind  of  lacquer 
ware  and  porcelain.  The  **  sea-weed  "  lacquer 
of  Aidzu,  a  city  in  the  highlands  and  famous  in 
the  civil  war,  was  also  sold  there.  The  petro- 
leum wells  were  worth  visiting.  In  winter  deli- 
cious salmon  were  taken,  and  the  general  table 
fare  was  good.  The  officers  were  very  polite 
and  appreciative,  and  the  thirty  pupils  intelli- 
gent and  well  behaved.  Although  much  of  his 
life  had  been  spent  in  pioneering.  Dr.  Brown 
had  never  before  been  so  shut  out  from  all  the 
world  as  here,  but  he  was  very  happy  in  the 
work.     All  were  in  good  health  and  spirits. 

Let  us  here  insert  a  picture  from  memory, 
painted  in  the  words  of  Mrs.  E.  R.  Miller,  then 
Miss  Kidder: 

"  Dr.  Brown  was  very  fond  of  reading,  and 
when  absorbed  in  a  new  book  took  no  account 
of  time.  He  would  often  stay  in  his  library  till 
the  small  hours  of  night.  When  he  had  leisure, 
he  dearly  loved  to  read  aloud.  I  remember  his 
walking  slowly  back  and  forth  across  the  room 
and    reading     nearly    the    whole    of    '  Aurora 


Overland  to  Niigata  229 

Leigh  '  to  Mrs.  Brown  and  myself,  at  one  sit- 
ting. Du  Chaillu's  *  Explorations  in  Africa/  and 
Dr.  Kane's  '  Arctic  Expedition/  he  read  aloud  to 
us.  On  Sunday  mornings  during  the  months 
we  were  at  Niigata  we  would  frequently  read 
some  whole  book  of  the  Bible  aloud,  and  sing 
many  hymns.  He  enjoyed  society,  but  was  not 
at  all  devoted  to  it,  much  preferring  reading  and 
study  in  his  quiet  library.  He  liked  a  joke  and 
was  good  at  telling  stories.  He  was  genial  and 
good-natured,  with  a  heart  as  tender  as  a 
woman's  and  lying  very  near  the  surface,  so  that 
he  was  easily  imposed  upon  and  several  indigent 
hangers  on  were  usually  attached  to  the 
premises.  He  rarely  inquired  into  these  mat- 
ters." 

The  winter  passed  in  steady  and  continuous 
work  and  study.  In  the  springtime  gardens 
were  sown  with  the  seeds  of  flowers  and  vege- 
tables from  home,  and  these  in  summer  brought 
daily  delight  to  their  eyes  and  pleasure  to  their 
palates. 

Nevertheless,  such  isolation  at  their  time  of 
life,  even  though  variety  was  not  lacking,  and 
part  of  the  time  their  oldest  son  was  with  them, 
proved  to  be  harder  for  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Brown 
than  they  had  supposed.  Even  more — and  this 
was  the  supreme  motive  urging  removal  to  the 
old  field — did  Dr.  Brown  desire  to  be  near  his 
fellow-translator,  Dr.  Hepburn,  and  the  books 
and  conferences  necessary  for  making  a  stand- 


230      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

ard  version  of  the  New  Testament.  When, 
therefore,  in  the  early  summer  of  1870,  the  au- 
thorities at  Yokohama  sent  word  to  their  for- 
mer principal  that  he  was  wanted  to  take  charge 
of  their  new  school,  he  decided  to  accept  the  in- 
vitation. 

The  journey  overland  from  Niigata  was  made 
by  a  new  route  through  superb  scenery,  and  on 
July  16,  after  ten  days,  he  was  again  domiciled 
in  Japan*s  greatest  seaport.  Six  of  his  Japanese 
pupils  followed  him  from  Niigata  and  twenty 
more  came  later. 

This  new  school  was  opened  September  11, 
with  thirty-two  pupils,  and  the  number  was  in- 
creasing daily.  He  taught  from  8.45  a.  m.  to 
2  p.  M.  His  contract  with  the  government  was 
for  three  years.  He  had  bought  a  place  on  *'  the 
bluff,"  and  was  now  comfortably  settled  in  his 
own  house.  It  was  very  pleasant  to  have  mails 
regularly.  Among  his  first  callers  were  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Verbeck  from  Tokio. 

It  was  in  this  school  edifice  of  1870,  and  before 
his  class,  that  the  biographer  first  met  the  sunny 
missionary.  After  a  hearty  greeting  that  was 
almost  boyish  in  its  warmth,  and  a  chat  about 
things  at  home,  there  followed  a  request  for  a 
sermon  on  the  following  Sunday,  for  as  soon  as 
he  had  arrived  in  Yokohoma  again,  the  pas- 
torate of  the  Union  Church  was  saddled  upon 
this  useful  beast  of  burden,  ever  ready  ready  to 
serve  his  fellow-men.     "  I  have  no  sermon,"  he 


Overland  to  Niigata  231 

said,  "  and  do  not  feel  like  writing  one  and  " — 
here  he  lowered  his  forehead  and  looked  over  his 
spectacles,  as  his  eyes  twinkled — **  I  would  rather 
take  a  dose  of  ipecac  than  preach  an  old  one. 
Oh,  say  *  yes/ "  And  the  "tenderfoot"  in 
Japan  said  "  yes." 

Miss  Kidder  began,  September  23,  teaching  a 
school  in  Dr.  Hepburn's  dispensary,  taking  Mrs. 
Hepburn's  pupils,  both  boys  and  girls,  but  hop- 
ing to  make  it  exclusively  a  girls'  school,  when 
the  number  was  sufficient.  This,  except  Miss 
Adrian's  episode,  was  probably  the  beginning  of 
the  Christian  education  of  women  in  Japan,  and 
is  interesting  to  consider  in  view  of  the  Woman's 
University  in  Tokio  organized  by  Mr.  Naruse  in 
1901.  The  first  recognition  by  the  government 
of  the  education  of  woman  was  in  its  school  in 
Tokio,  taught  by  Mrs.  P.  V.  Veeder  and  Miss 
M.  C.  Griffs,  which  afterwards  became  the  Fe- 
male Normal  School. 


The  Era  of  Enlightened  CiviHzation 


XIX 

The  Era  of  Enlightened  Civilization 

AS  the  year  1870  waned,  Japan  was  still 
the  Land  of  Approximate  Time;  clocks 
^  and  watches,  though  numerous,  were  still 
toys  and  curiosities,  rather  than  serious  regu- 
lators of  habit.  Dr.  Brown  wrote  December 
21:  ''  With  all  their  gettings,  the  Japanese  have 
never  learned  the  value  of  time.  In  many  re- 
spects they  are  like  children,  but  fortunately 
they  have  a  child's  docility  and  it  is  pleasant  to 
teach  them."  Pupils  were  coming  to  him  from 
all  parts  of  Japan,  and  among  them  Buddhist 
priests.  Webster's  Spelling  Book  was  now  in 
great  demand.  Two  months  before  a  member 
of  the  imperial  family,  with  three  companions, 
had  gone  to  visit  America.  Another  Miya,  or 
prince  of  the  blood,  was  about  to  start  for  Eng- 
land. Ito  (now  marquis  and  premier)  was  leav- 
ing for  the  United  States  on  financial  business, 
as  were  also  four  merchants  of  Yedo  by  consent 
of  government.  "  The  schoolmaster  is  abroad, 
and  the  people  of  the  fossilized  nation  of  a  few 
years  back  have  rubbed  open  their  eyes  and  be- 
gun to  read  the  spelling  book." 

About  this  time  he  received  a  letter  from  a 

835 


236      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

former  Chinese  pupil,  who  had  been  at  Monson 
for  two  years.  Now  a  pillar  in  the  church  at 
Hong  Kong,  he  had  had  his  son  educated  in 
England  four  years,  at  the  cost  of  one  thousand 
dollars  a  year.  He  wished  to  go  to  the  Unite4 
States  with  his  family,  but  was  grieved  at  the 
hostility  of  Congress  and  of  the  people  in  Cali- 
fornia. Dr.  Brown  was  indignant  at  this  un- 
christian anti-Chinese  feeling  in  America. 
'*  Sift  the  matter  to  the  bottom  and  I  believe  you 
will  find  that  it  is  not  Americans  born  in  the 
land  who  have  started  this  crusade  against  the 
Chinese.  American  politicians  here  and  there 
have  taken  up  the  Irishman's  cause,  but  it  is  for 
the  Irishman's  vote,  not  for  any  valid  reason  in 
the  nature  of  things."  Earnestly  he  protested 
against  the  shame  and  disgrace  to  our  country 
involved  in  the  senseless  hatred  of  the  Chinese 
by  aliens  with  the  dog-in-the-manger  spirit. 

With  equal  hatred  of  Japanese  bigotry,  he 
spoke  and  wrote  freely  against  the  persecution 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Christians  in  Japan  by 
the  Tokio  government,  which  was  still  intensely 
benighted  and  pagan.  They  were  not  pro- 
Buddhist  as  had  been  the  Tokugawas,  but  pro- 
Shinto,  and  were  still  persecutors  of  men  who 
suffered  for  conscience'  sake. 

Of  the  new  American  envoy,  Hon.  Charles  E. 
Belong,  of  Nevada,  he  wrote:  **  Our  minister 
here  is  showing  himself  to  be  a  live  man  and 
equal    in    diplomacy    to    the    best    of    his    col- 


Era  of  Enlightened  Civilization    237 

leagues.  .  .  He  lately  by  a  very  clever  and  bold 
stroke  of  diplomacy  compelled  the  imperial  gov- 
ernment to  include  or  rather  not  to  exclude  the 
island  of  Amakusa  from  the  treaty  limits  of  Na- 
gasaki. They  had  given  notice  that  no  foreigner 
must  go  to  that  island  henceforth;  and  why? 
Because,  though  they  never  hinted  it,  they  were 
going  to  make  the  island  a  penal  colony  for  the 
persecuted  Christians.  Pray  and  agitate  for  the 
subject  of  religious  liberty." 

Late  in  August,  1871,  Dr.  Brown,  with  two 
naval  officers,  made  the  ascent  of  Japan's  lordly 
mountain  Fujisan,  being  rewarded  after  the 
fatiguing  ascent  with  a  cloudless  morning  view 
of  the  ocean  coast  and  country  and  a  colossal 
reproduction  through  the  vaporous  air  of  the 
Pacific  Mail  Steamer  Alaska,  then  sailing  for 
California.  Instead  of  traveling  in  the  old  kago, 
or  basket  palanquin,  carried  by  two  men  and 
requiring  the  traveler  to  make  a  bowknot  of  his 
legs,  the  jin-riki-sha  was  everywhere  in  use  on 
the  level  roads.  The  hiki,  or  puller,  of  this  two- 
wheeled  man-power  carriage,  still  wore  a  dress 
that  suggested  only  a  necktie  and  pair  of  spurs. 
Travelers  in  the  East  soon  get  used  to  the  sight 
of  scant  clothing.  "  Our  human  horses  no 
doubt  consider  the  profuse  tattooing  of  their 
persons  as  an  elegant  covering." 

Was  Dr.  Brown  the  first  foreigner  to  notice, 
as  he  did  on  his  visit  to  Hakone  Lake,  that  strik- 
ing piece   of  mediaeval  native   engineering  by 


238      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

which  the  rice  fields  of  seventeen  villages  were 
irrigated?  It  is  a  long  tunnel^  nine  feet  square 
and  many  hundred  feet  long,  cut  through  the 
heart  of  the  mountain. 

Returning  to  the  routine  of  toil,  Dr.  Brown 
amid  multifarious  labors  devoted  his  energies  to 
the  growth  and  consolidation  of  the  Union 
Church.  As  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Ballagh  wrote  in 
1901:  "  Dr.  Brown's  influence  was  paramount  in 
the  formation  of  the  Union  Church  at  Yoko- 
hama, which  was  so  influential  in  inducing  like 
religious  organizations  in  Tokio  and  Kobe,  with 
a  distinctly  powerful  influence  on  the  native 
church  and  its  union  organization. 

"  It  was  largely  through  Dr.  Brown's  efforts 
and  those  of  his  colleagues  that  a  house  of  wor- 
ship was  provided  for  the  foreign  community,  at 
a  nominal  cost,  on  the  eligible  lot  of  land  a  part 
of  Commodore  Perry's  treaty  ground  near  the 
Hatoba,  as  it  is  now  called.  The  previous  erec- 
tion of  two  imposing  buildings,  four  stories  high 
with  basement,  rising  on  the  ground,  alongside 
of  an  extremely  modest  little  chapel  for  mission- 
ary purposes,  gave  rise  to  a  most  extraordinary 
series  of  slanders,  falsehoods,  and  misrepresen- 
tations, both  verbal,  written,  printed,  and  photo- 
graphic, which  traveled  round  the  world  on 
seven-leagued  boots.  Echoes  and  allusions  to 
this  form  of  fiction,  which  among  the  haters  of 
Christ's  religion  still  passes  for  truth,  are  even 
yet  heard.     The  whole  authentic  story,  however, 


UNION  CHURCH,  YOKOHAMA. 


Era  of  Enlightened  Civilization    239 

has  been  told  again  and  again — the  acquisition 
of  the  land,  the  erection  of  the  buildings,  and  the 
provision  of  means  for  church  erection,  without 
financial  help  from  the  Board  of  Missions.  It 
was  a  perfectly  honorable  transaction  and  was 
possible  because  of  peculiar  circumstances." 

The  terrible  falsehood  and  slander  referred  to 
was  long  in  dying.  One  of  the  many  times  the 
biographer  saw  it  in  print  was  in  the  Boston 
Herald,  about  1890.  By  the  courtesy  of  the 
editor  he  helped  to  nail  the  lie  then  and  there, 
in  a  full  explanation  and  recital  of  the  facts. 

Even  the  photograph  was  brought  into  requi- 
sition and  made  to  lie.  Copies  of  the  pictures 
thus  made  were  sent  over  the  United  States. 
Yet  the  truth  came  again  to  resurrection  in  a 
most  unexpected  form,  at  the  thirtieth  anniver- 
sary of  the  organization  of  the  first  church  of 
Reformed  Christianity,  held  on  the  loth  of 
March,  1902,  at  "  No.  167,"  Yokohama.  Then 
the  venerable  first  elder  of  1872,  Ogawa,  besides 
the  president  of  the  Lower  House  of  the  Im- 
perial Diet,  two  presidents  of  Christian  colleges 
in  Tokio,  and  ex-pastors  and  Japanese  famous 
in  every  line  of  life  were  present,  the  galleries 
being  filled  with  pupils  of  the  girls'  schools  in 
the  city.  After  sermon,  prayer,  reminiscences, 
and  greetings,  as  told  in  the  Japan  Evan- 
gelist for  April,  1902:  "A  very  unexpected,  but 
interesting  incident  occurred  at  the  lunch  tables 
in    the    lecture    room.     An    early    Yokohama 


240      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

Christian,  now  over  eighty  years  old,  and  living 
at  Asakusa,  Tokio,  named  Shimooka  Renjio,  to 
whom  belongs  the  honor  of  being  the  first  Japa- 
nese photographer  [having  been  taught  by  Dr. 
Brown],  being  present,  and  having  heard  Rev. 
Ogawa's  recital  of  the  difficulties  connected  with 
the  erection  of  the  Church  buildings  on  these 
premises,  arose  and  said  he  wished  to  testify  to 
something  he  had  never  before  given  utterance 
to.  It  was  that  early  in  the  '  sixties,'  before  the 
church  next  door  was  built,  but  while  the  large 
house  adjoining,  and  this  little  chapel  had  been 
built,  a  high  official,  he  took  him  to  be,  of  the 
United  States,  came  to  him,  wishing  him  to  take 
a  photograph  of  the  house  and  chapel,  and  he 
wanted  an  inscription,  that  was  supplied,  to  be 
also  taken  with  it,  or  reproduced  on  it,  stating 
what  it  purported  to  be,  viz.,  that  '  Mr. 
B./  a  well-known  missionary,  *  had  used 
the  church  funds  for  building  his  house,  and 
only  a  small  part  for  building  a  chapel,'  and 
that  his  object  in  having  the  picture  taken  was 
to  spread  it  abroad  in  America,  and  expose  him. 
To  this  Renjio  said,  '  I  told  him  it  was  false;  it 
was  not  so.  The  money  was  in  bank,  or  in 
America,  and  could  not  be  gotten.  And  I  re- 
fused to  take  the  picture  with  such  an  inscrip- 
tion.' *  Well,  then,'  the  official  repHed,  '  take  it 
without,'  and,  being  a  photographer  and  that  his 
business,  he  had  done  so.  This  was  a  surpris- 
ing statement,  throwing  a  strong  light  on  the 


Era  of  Enlightened  Civilization    241 

fact  that  those  photographs  were  extensively 
circulated  with  an  inscription  in  an  U.  S.  offi- 
cial's well-known  hand-writing  over  the  dwell- 
ing home — '  For  Mr.  B.'s  residence  four  thou- 
sand dollars,'  and  over  the  little  chapel,  or 
*  Sacred  Dog  Kennel,'  '  Of  the  few  remaining 
bricks  for  the  Lord,  six  hundred  dollars.' 

"  The  reprehensible  part  of  this  story,  aside 
from  the  fact  that  it  was  a  worn-out  falsehood 
first  asserted  at  Singapore,  then  of  Bishop 
Boone's  chapel,  Shanghai,  and  now  again  in 
Japan,  was  the  fact  that  the  purchase  of  the 
house,  built  by  other  parties  and  bought  in  at  a 
sacrifice  to  them,  cost  the  Church  property  two 
thousand  dollars,  and  was  never  built  by  a  mis- 
sionary at  all.  While  the  chapel,  built  for  six 
hundred  dolars,  of  stones  saved  from  a  fire, 
was  erected  to  prevent  said  U.  S.  official's  prede- 
cessor from  taking  illegal  possession  of  the  prop- 
erty. It  was  a  surprise  that  a  matter  distinctly 
referred  to  the  Grand  Assize  of  the  Last  Day 
should  spring,  as  it  were,  from  the  grave  on  such 
an  occasion  as  this! " 

Dr.  Brown's  facile  pen  was  often  called  into 
requisition  to  frame  resolutions  of  a  general  char- 
acter bearing  on  Christian  liberty  or  unity.  On 
September  28,  1872,  a  convention  of  Protestant 
missionaries  in  Japan,  forty-three  persons  in  all, 
met  at  Yokohama.  Of  one  important  episode 
Dr.  Henry  Stout  writes  in  1901:  "Again  Dr. 
Brown's  pen  and  heart  and  brain  were  called 


242      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

into  requisition  to  form  a  resolution  expressive 
of  our  desire  for  one  church  of  Christ  in  Japan. 
This  was  at  the  time  of  the  first  missionary  con- 
ference held  in  Japan,  at  Yokohama,  in  the  au- 
tumn of  1872.  It  was  a  conference  for  the  trans- 
lation of  the  Scripture  and  the  union  of  the 
church  of  Christ  in  Japan.  Although  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Episcopalians  in  Japan  de- 
clined to  come,  this  great  body  of  Christians 
was  represented  by  the  Rev.  E.  W.  Syle,  Eng- 
lish chaplain  in  Yokohama,  and  an  American 
Episcopal  clergyman  from  Shanghai.  Mr.  Syle 
was  very  friendly  to  the  proposed  union.  Dr. 
Brown  was  heart  and  soul  for  the  resolution. 

"  Dr.  Brown  was  a  pioneer,  then,  in  the  idea  of 
the  unity  of  Christian  work  and  effort  in  Japan. 
He  was  ably  seconded  by  the  American  church- 
man Mr.  E.  W.  Syle,  sometime  rector  of  Christ's 
Church,  Yokohama,  who  urged  *  the  recognition 
of  the  validity  of  each  others'  ministry  and  of 
the  administration  of  the  ordinances.' 

"  All  went  well  until  the  report  on  the  organi- 
zation of  the  hypothetical  church  for  Japan  was 
presented,  when  much  opposition  was  shown 
and  apparently  insurmountable  obstacles  con- 
jured up. 

"  At  the  meeting,  next  morning.  Dr.  Brown 
brought  in  a  short  set  of  resolutions  constructive 
and  so  characteristic  of  his  own  personality  that 
I  copy  it  complete. 

"  'Whereas  the  Church  of  Christ  is  one  in  him, 


Era  of  Enlightened  Civilization    243 

and  the  diversities  of  denominations  among 
Protestants  are  but  accidents  which,  though  not 
affecting  the  vital  unity  of  beHevers,  obscure  the 
oneness  of  the  Church  in  Christendom  and  much 
more  in  pagan  lands,  where  the  history  of  the 
divisions  cannot  be  understood;  and  whereas  we, 
as  Protestant  missionaries,  desire  to  secure  uni- 
formity in  our  modes  and  methods  of  evangel- 
ization so  as  to  avoid  as  far  as  possible  the  evil 
arising  from  marked  dififerences;  we  therefore 
take  this  earliest  opportunity  offered  by  this 
Convention  to  agree  that  we  will  use  our  influ- 
ence to  secure  as  far  as  possible  identity  of  name 
and  organization  in  the  native  churches  in  the 
formation  of  which  we  may  be  called  to  assist, 
that  name  being  as  catholic  as  the  Church  of 
Christ,  and  the  organization  being  that  wherein 
the  government  of  each  church  shall  be  by  the 
ministry  and  eldership  of  the  same,  with  the  con- 
currence of  the  brethren/ 

"  To  this  fidelity  to  principle,  whatever  steps 
had  been  made  in  this  direction  both  in  the 
Church  of  Christ  so  called  and  in  the  principle 
of  union  among  the  Episcopal,  the  Methodist, 
and  other  bodies  of  believers  (besides  the  Pres- 
byterial)  may  be  said  to  be  due." 

Dr.  Brown  had  some  time  before  this  written 
to  his  Board: 

"  Now,  from  the  ingathering  of  converts  from 
this  land,  it  seems  as  if  all  who  love  the  Lord 
Jesus  must  wish  to  see  such  a  foundation  laid  as 


244      ^  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

that  the  Church  here  shall  be  one  and  undivided, 
the  '  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan,'  rather  than  a 
church  here  of  one  name,  others  of  another,  con- 
fusing the  heathen  by  its  divisions,  and  weaken- 
ing the  power  of  the  church  thereby." 

Again  he  had  recorded  his  convictions  and 
prayer  : 

"  May  God  incline  all  who  are  interested  in 
the  progress  of  Christianity  in  Japan  to  the  same 
catholicity  of  sentiment  and  unity  of  aim,  so 
that  the  divisions  that  mar  the  beauty  of  the 
Church  in  Christendom  may  as  far  as  possible  be 
excluded  from  this  country." 

Dr.  Berry  tells  how  Dr.  Brown  arose  and 
offered  this  resolution,  "  so  happily  worded  and 
so  gracefully  presented  as  to  allay  all  opposition. 
He  seemed  to  me  the  very  ideal  of  a  missionary. 
I  shall  never  forget  the  impression  made  upon 
me  as  he  stood  before  us  reading  that  resolution ; 
his  face  strong,  manly,  and  winsome,  his  manner 
gracious  and  dignified,  his  language  refined,  and 
his  voice  rich  and  mellow.  He  seemed  a  veri- 
table father  in  Israel,  a  leader  and  teacher  whom 
all  were  ready  to  honor." 

The  resolutions  were  passed  unanimously. 
Dr.  tout  says :  "  All  contained  in  this  broad, 
catholic  set  of  resolutions  has  not  been  real- 
ized, but  at  the  same  time  in  spirit  it  has  been 
acted  upon  in  whatever  could  practically  be 
done.  Dr.  Brown's  conciliatory  disposition  was 
the  directing  influence  that  saved  a  great  prin- 


Era  of  Enlightened  Civilization    245 

ciple  from  total  wreck,  in  those  early  days  of 
mission  work,  and  it  has  resulted  in  the  drawing 
together  of  the  different  families  of  missions  and 
churches/' 

To  all  of  this  the  biographer  can  bear  witness, 
for  he  was  present,  saw  and  heard  all,  and  took 
part  in  sustaining  the  resolution. 

One  of  the  interesting  events  of  1872  was  the 
formation  of  the  Asiatic  Society  of  Japan,  of 
which  Dr.  Brown  was  made  vice  president.  He 
took  a  lively  interest  in  the  meetings,  often  pre- 
siding with  felicitous  introduction  of  speakers, 
and  making  luminous  additions  to  knowledge  in 
the  discussions  following  the  papers  read. 
Thirty  volumes  of  "  Transactions,"  forming  a 
storehouse  of  invaluable  information  concerning 
the  Japanese  and  their  country,  are  now  among 
the  treasures  of  literature  in  English. 


A  Spiritual  Engineer 


XX 

A  Spiritual  Engineer 

IT  was  a  glorious  day  in  the  history  of  Chris- 
tianity in  Japan  when  on  March  lo,  1872,  the 
first  native  Protestant  Christian  Church  was 
first  organized  in  the  Httle  stone  edifice  stand- 
ing on  the  Perry  treaty  ground.  It  grew  out  of 
a  class  taught  by  Rev.  J.  H.  and  Mrs.  Ballagh. 
The  church  consisted  of  twenty-four  members, 
twenty-one  of  whom  were  men.  Dr.  Brown  was 
present  and  took  part,  when  nine  young  men 
were  baptized,  an  elder  and  deacon  ordained, 
and  the  first  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
in  the  Japanese  language  was  enjoyed.  Five 
Christian  women,  all  Americans,  were  also 
present. 

Dr.  Brown  took  charge  of  the  Sunday  evening 
meeting,  which  was  for  prayer  and  study  of 
the  Bible,  at  the  American  Mission  Home  of 
the  Woman's  Union  Missionary  Society,  No.  212 
Bluff.  Thirty  or  forty  men  and  a  few  women 
were  usually  present. 

He  wrote :  **  The  Japanese  have  lived  under 
such  a  system  of  government  that  it  is  no  wonder 
they  should  at  first  tremble  with  fear  of  the  con- 

849 


250      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

sequences  that  might  follow  their  embrace  of 
Christianity.  But  there  is  a  heroic  vein  in  them 
after  all,  and  such  stuff  as  martyrs  are  made  of 
often  shows  itself  in  persons  who  might  before 
have  been  accounted  timid." 

The  editor  of  the  Japan  Mail  declared  that  the 
translation  of  the  Bible  into  Japanese  was  like 
"  building  a  railway  through  the  national  intel- 
lect." Still  at  this  work  of  spiritual  engineering, 
Dr.  Brown  wrote  on  June  7,  1872,  that  he  hoped 
to  leave  the  Japanese  educational  service  August 
I,  and  to  devote  himself  wholly  to  translation. 
There  were  only  three  men  then  on  the  committee 
with  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  vernacular  for 
thorough  work. 

By  help  of  his  native  teacher  Dr.  Brown 
brought  five  block-cutters  down  from  Yedo  who 
began  work  upon  the  blocks  of  the  Gospel  of 
Mark,  which  was  to  cost  80  or  90  dollars  for 
the  cutting  work.  This  Gospel  of  Mark  in 
Japanese  went  into  circulation  in  the  autumn, 
some  copies  going  to  Kobe  and  some  to  Nagasaki. 
Dr.  St.  George  EUiot,  the  well-known  American 
dentist,  paid  for  the  printing,  amounting  to  $200. 
The  first  edition  consisted  of  1000  copies,  and 
it  was  customary  to  print  10,000  impressions 
from  one  set  of  blocks.  Already  many  earnest 
natives  were  reading  the  Book  of  Books.  The 
Governor  of  Yokohama  had  an  English  Bible, 
and  also  such  parts  in  Japanese  as  were  available. 

On  June  24,  1873,  at  sixty-two  years  of  age. 


A  Spiritual  Engineer  251 

twenty  of  them  having  been  spent  in  eastern 
Asia,  Dr.  Brown  was  in  vigorous  health,  teach- 
ing, sermon-writing,  preaching,  and  Bible-class 
teaching.  While  the  faithless  and  ungodly  were 
busy  in  informing  the  Japanese  that  Christianity 
was  a  religion  that  science  has  exploded,  the  faith 
of  this  believer  and  worker  was  but  strength- 
ened. So  has  it  always  been.  To  the  unbeliever 
Christianity  is  always  "  discredited,"  while  to  the 
man  of  faith  it  is  the  power  of  God,  ever  work- 
ing. He  wrote :  "  Send  your  choice  men  here, 
men  of  brains,  and  men  of  common  sense,  men 
who  not  only  know  what  to  do,  but  also  how  not 
to  do  a  thing  when  occasion  requires;  men  well 
balanced,  non-explosive, and  self-contained;  men 
of  culture  as  well  as  men  of  piety.  Here  is  also 
a  sphere  of  action  for  the  best  women  that  Chris- 
tendom affords.  The  nation  is  waking  up  to 
its  want  of  education  in  both  males  and  females." 
A  newspaper  in  Tokio,  published  in  hira-kana, 
declared  that  there  were  50,000  pupils  in  the 
government  schools,  and  that  half  of  them  were 
females. 

Miss  Kidder  had  27  pupils,  among  others  the 
vice  governor's  wife  and  two  married  ladies 
whose  husbands  were  attached  to  the  Japanese 
embassy,  now  in  Europe,  and  one  young  lady 
from  250  miles  north.  Miss  Kidder  also  super- 
intended the  Sunday  School  of  over  60  children, 
including  a  dozen  or  more  of  Japanese  pupils. 
Rev.  E.  W.  Syle,  a  dear  old  friend  of  China  days, 


252      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

was  with  him.  When  the  clock  had  struck 
twelve  it  was  in  midnight  silence,  but  not  in 
midnight  darkness,  for  it  was  the  day  after  the 
full  moon.  "  So  too  the  darkness  of  heathenism 
is  beginning  to  be  broken  by  the  entrance  of  the 
light  that  shines  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ." 

On  the  4th  of  August,  1872,  Dr.  Brown  had  the 
great  happiness  of  baptizing  a  gentleman  named 
Okuno  Masatsuna,  formerly  officer  in  the  house- 
hold of  the  Miya,  or  uncle  of  the  present  em- 
peror, who  took  sides  with  the  Shogun's  fol- 
lowers, or  rather  was  set  up  as  a  puppet-em- 
peror. Okuno  fell  with  his  master,  and  the  Miya 
was  sent  to  England  to  study. 

In  later  years  Dr.  Verbeck,  in  his  "  History  of 
Christian  Missions  in  Japan,"  showed  very  clearly 
the  benefit  of  defeat  upon  many  of  the  brave 
men  who,  having  lost  all  their  earthly  estate  with 
the  fall  of  the  Tycoon  and  the  Tokugawas,  in 
the  hour  of  their  grief  turned  their  thoughts  to 
the  great  Captain.  In  his  distress  and  want 
Okuno's  relatives  advised  him  to  try  fasting  and 
prayers,  with  lustrations  at  the  most  celebrated 
shrines  in  Yedo,  and  the  sending  of  substitutes 
to  Hakone  and  Nikko.  To  aid  him,  they  paid 
the  expenses  of  these  vicarious  pilgrimages, 
amounting  to  three  hundred  dollars.  Okuno 
went  through  the  dreadful  penance  of  standing 
naked  in  mid-winter  before  the  gods  of  each 
shrine  and  pouring  cold  water  upon  his  person, 
hiring  proxies  to  do  the  same  on  his  behalf  in 


A  Spiritual  Engineer  253 

different  places.  In  fifty  days  he  had  made  ten 
thousand  douches,  "  having  fasted  sometimes  for 
seven  days,  eating  absolutely  nothing  and  only 
sustaining  life  by  drinking  water.  Sometimes 
he  would  go  in  weakness  so  great  that  he 
required  a  friend  or  two  to  hold  him  up  as 
he  crawled  slowly  along,  and  then,  standing 
before  the  door  of  the  shrine,  poured  bucket- 
ful after  bucketful  of  water  cold  as  ice  over 
his  head,  until  his  skin  turned  black,  and  his 
emaciated  body  was  scarcely  able  to  keep  him 
from  falling.  When  his  bamboo  tallies  were  all 
used  up,  showing  that  his  vow  was  fulfilled,  his 
friends  would  help  him  to  go  to  some  house,  and 
seating  him  by  a  charcoal  brazier,  persevered  in 
restoring  the  vitality  of  his  poor,  almost  frozen 
body."  After  going  thus  to  five  hundred  shrines, 
great  and  small,  and  performing  all  the  pre- 
scribed penance,  he  went  back  to  his  family,  but 
no  compassionate  answer  had,  after  all,  been 
given  by  the  gods  to  his  earnest  prayers  and 
intercessions. 

Some  of  his  friends  undertook,  by  cross-ques- 
tioning Okuno,  to  ascertain  why  the  gods  were 
so  silent  and  irresponsive.  These  inquisitors 
found  that,  on  account  of  exhaustion,  he  had 
failed  to  be  at  this  or  that  shrine  at  the  time 
promised  in  his  vows.  They  therefore  pro- 
nounced this  to  be  the  probable  cause  of  his 
failure  to  get  relief.  As  a  last  hope  Okuno  vis- 
ited many  of  the  shrines  again,  but  failed  to  get 


254      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

any  answer.  He  then  told  his  friends  that,  come 
what  might,  he  should  visit  the  shrines  no  more. 

Okuno's  penance  was  not  merely  for  himself, 
but  for  his  prince  and  his  fellow-retainers.  He 
had  starved  himself  to  a  skeleton  and  almost 
destroved  his  own  life,  but  had  not  one  word  of 
consolation,  nor  had  one  comforting  response 
been  vouchsafed  from  any  of  the  gods.  Travel- 
ing to  Yokohama,  he  became  a  teacher  of  Dr. 
Hepburn  and  was  for  eight  months  in  his  Bible 
class.  He  then  aided  Dr.  Brown  in  the  transla- 
tion of  the  Scriptures.  At  his  own  instance,  he 
made  a  version  of  Rev.  W.  A.  P.  Martin's  famous 
book,  '*  Ten-do-saku-den,"  or  '*  An  Examination 
of  the  Principles  of  Christianity,  or  the  Heavenly 
Way."  For  the  first  six  months,  under  his  new 
teachers,  he  manifested  no  special  interest,  except 
an  occasional  expression  of  admiration,  but  in 
the  early  summer  of  1872  his  enthusiasm  awoke. 
He  often  paused  to  give  expression  to  the 
thought  awakened  by  reading  the  New  Testa- 
ment, and  finally  asked  to  be  baptized. 

I  remember  after  coming  from  a  year's  exile 
from  English-speaking  people,  in  the  province 
of  Echizen,  but  when  my  ears  were  well  attuned 
to  the  rhythm  of  the  musical  language  of  Japan, 
hearing  Okuno  preach  on  the  parable  of  the 
Prodigal  Son.  I  had  heard  missionaries,  aliens, 
grumble  and  groan  over  "  this  unspiritual  pagan 
language  "  (this  was  in  the  days  before  the  Bible 
in  Japanese,  and  before  the  vernacular  had  been 


THE  REV.  O.  KUNO  MASATSUNA. 


A  Spiritual  Engineer  255 

made  plastic  by  a  generation  of  regenerated  and 
Christian  Japanese),  and  I  came  to  the  American 
Mission  Home  on  "  the  Bluff  "  on  Sunday  even- 
ing in  March,  1872,  expecting  an  ordinary  dis- 
course. Every  available  foot  of  room  was 
crowded  by  men,  women,  and  children  as  they 
sat  around  Dr.  Brown,  drinking  in  his  instruc- 
tion in  Bible  truths.  When  he  had  finished 
Okuno  arose  and  opened  his  mouth.  I  was  en- 
thralled. The  Japanese  language  seemed  to 
have  been  as  fully  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit  as 
the  preacher  himself  certainly  was.  I  seemed  to 
understand  what  was  meant  by  the  gift  of 
tongues.  Whether  or  not,  whereas  I  had  before 
seen  only  a  stone,  now  I  saw  a  flashing  jewel. 
"  Until  polished  the  precious  gem  has  no  splen- 
dor." Dr.  Brown's  theory  was  here  demonstrated 
that  the  best  way  to  evangelize  Japan  would  be 
through  her  own  sons,  and  he  wrought  master- 
fully to  raise  up  a  native  ministry.  He  lived  to 
see  "  twenty  Browns,"  and  many  more,  on  the 
way  to  the  pulpit  and  pastorate. 

Behold  here,  after  thirty  years  of  the  preaching 
of  the  gospel  by  Okuno  to  his  countrymen  and 
his  feeding  of  the  lambs  of  Christ,  his  letter  to 
the  biographer,  written  in  1902,  and  part  of  his 
poem  in  memoriam  to  his  teacher : 

"  Though  I  cannot  behold  your  beloved  face 
with  my  bodily  eyes,  I  can  see  it  well  in  my  heart, 
for  I  am  ever  mindful  of  you.  Yes,  often  your 
solemn  form  with  the  Bible  in  hand  rises  before 


256      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

me,  and  I  can  hear,  even  with  my  deafened  ears, 
the  voice  which  used  to  teach  me. 

"  You  did  not  speak  much,  but  you  have  taught 
me  many  truths.  You  have  warned  me,  '  Do 
not  pray  long  nor  preach  long,  for  it  pleases  not 
the  Lord  nor  men  either.  Beware  of  this,  for  it 
is  not  a  slight  matter.'  I  can  hear  the  oft-re- 
peated words  even  now. 

"  You  have  preached  to  many,  but  you  baptized 
only  three,  of  whom  I  was  the  first.  The  others 
are  also  God's  faithful  servants. 

"  You  taught  me  the  way  to  preach.  It  was  a 
way  that  many  people  would  never  think  of. 
One  night  I  was  very  much  troubled,  for  there 
were  two  voices  contending  in  my  heart.  One 
was  saying: 

"  '  Go  and  preach  the  gospel  at  once,  for  many 
souls  are  perishing,'  but  the  other  said : 

"  *  Oh,  no !  You  are  yet  to  study  a  long  while, 
or  else  you  will  teach  many  mistakes.' 

"  I  knew  not  which  to  obey.  So  I  went  and 
asked  you: 

"'What  shall  I  do?' 

"  You  just  gazed  at  me  and  said : 

" '  Obey  both,  for  they  are  both  reasonable.' 

"  I  was  astonished  and  asked  again : 

" '  Dr.  Brown,  how  can  I  obey  two  voices  at 
one  time  ? ' 

"  You  told  me,  smiling : 

"  *  It  is  an  easy  thing.  Teach  while  you  study, 
and  study  while  you  teach.' 


A  Spiritual  Engineer  257 

"  And  so  I  have  been  obeying  you  from  that 
time — preaching  while  I  study,  studying  while  I 
preach.  I  am  always  thinking  of  you  through 
all  these  thirty  years,  and  so  I  can  see  you  in  my 
heart  as  clearly  as  though  you  were  still  living." 

Most  felicitously,  Dr.  S.  Wells  Williams  of 
China  was  present  at  the  baptism  of  Okuno,  and 
told  the  story  of  how,  years  ago,  in  1837,  at 
Macao,  the  shipwrecked  Japanese  were  led  to 
love  the  Light  of  the  World,  and  how  they  held 
prayer  meetings  for  Japan,  and  about  the  send- 
ing of  the  ship  Morrison,  to  return  Japanese 
waifs,  only  in  Yedo  Bay  to  be  fired  on  and  driven 
away.  Now,  after  so  long  a  time,  when  Okuno 
received  the  waters  of  baptism  in  the  presence 
of  forty  or  fifty  Japanese,  S.  Wells  Williams, 
who  was  on  the  Morrison,  sat  at  communion 
with  his  Japanese  friends.  Dr.  Hepburn,  just 
back  from  China,  whither  he  had  gone  for  the 
printing  of  his  dictionary,  was  also  present,  so 
that  three  of  the  American  gospel  pioneers  in 
China,  survivors  of  many  who  had  gone  to  their 
reward,  were  together  on  this  notable  day. 

Okuno  Masatsuna  became  not  only  an  eloquent 
orator  and  preacher  of  the  gospel  which  had 
healed  his  soul,  but  also  an  admirable  hymnist 
and  poet. 

Meanwhile  we  in  Tokio,  English-speaking 
Christians,  had  subscribed  money  to  build  the 
edifice  of  the  Union  Church,  in  Tsukiji  (filled- 
up  land),  the  foreign  quarter,  and  late  in  July, 


258      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

1872,  it  was  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  Almighty 
God.  As  the  oldest  missionary  in  Japan,  Dr. 
Brown  was  invited  to  preach  the  sermon.  Rev. 
E.  W.  Syle  opened  the  services  with  invocation, 
Apostles'  Creed,  and  Psalm.  Dr.  Peter  V. 
Veeder  read  the  Scripture,  and  Professor  J.  H. 
Seelye,  president  of  Amherst  College,  then  visit- 
ing Japan,  offered  the  concluding  prayer  and 
benediction.  The  congregation  consistea  of  43 
persons,  22  men  and  8  women  (foreigners),  and 
13  Japanese.  A  collection  of  three  hundred  dol- 
lars was  taken  up,  to  pay  the  debt  of  nine  hun- 
dred dollars  on  the  building.  Altogether  it  was 
a  very  happy  occasion.  Dr.  Brown  was  in  the 
best  of  spirits,  and  all  of  us  who  had  heard  the 
sermon  were  cheered. 

This  was  the  second  time  that  Dr.  Brown 
preached  in  this  great  city,  the  first  being  on 
the  nth  of  March,  i860,  at  the  American  Lega- 
tion, his  audience  being  made  up  of  nine  gentle- 
men from  the  British  and  American  legations. 
He  had  dwelt  upon  the  shortness  of  the  longest 
life,  as  suggested  by  Genesis  v.  25.  It  was  a 
time  of  murder  and  incendiarism.  Within  a 
twelvemonth  Mr.  Heuskcn,  one  of  his  hearers, 
was  cut  to  pieces  by  Japanese  assassins,  but  on 
this  day  in  1872  all  assembled,  without  fear  of 
molestation,  to  consecrate  a  house  of  worship  to 
the  living  God,  in  the  capital  of  this  heathen 
empire.     What  had  God  wrought ! 

Nevertheless    religious   freedom  had   not   yet 


A  Spiritual  Engineer  259 

come,  and  a  good  many  people  who  loved  "  the 
name  that  is  above  every  name  "  were  still  pining 
and  dying  in  prison.  Probably  three  thousand 
native  Christians  from  the  region  around  Nag- 
asaki, descendants  of  seventeenth-century  be- 
lievers, were  still  in  the  prisons  of  Japan. 

For  fourteen  years  Dr.  Brown  had  not  asked 
for  nor  received  a  dollar  for  house  rent  from  the 
Board  of  Missions,  and  had  borne  that  expense 
himself.  As  neither  Mr.  Verbeck  nor  Dr.  Brown 
were  of  any  expense  to  the  Board,  both  receiving 
support  by  their  own  efforts  elsewhere,  he  plead 
for  two  new  missionaries  to  be  sent  out  by  the 
Reforrmed  Church.  Of  twenty  now  at  Yoko- 
hama, only  three  were  with  the  Reformed 
Church.  One  man  was  needed  to  train  a  native 
ministry.  As  the  Reformed  mission  was  the 
only  one  that  had  a  native  church,  its  oppor- 
ity  to  inaugurate  this  enterprise  seemed  a  golden 
one.  A  good  scholar  and  one  apt  to  teach  was 
wanted.  So  wrote  Dr.  Brown  on  November  19, 
1872,  when  just  returned  from  a  month's  trip  to 
Shanghai,  visiting  Kobe  and  Nagasaki  on  the 
way.  As  the  Reformed  Church  in  America 
was  still  unable  to  pay  his  salary,  as  it  had  been 
unable  for  years  past,  he  proposed  to  take  ten 
pupils  in  his  own  house,  for  the  rent  of  which 
he  was  paying  twelve  hundred  a  year.  The 
pupils  were  to  pay  some  portion  of  their  expense, 
so  he  would  be  self-supporting.  He  hoped  to 
translate  the  Scriptures  and  do  good  in  teaching. 


26o      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

He  thrilled  at  the  report  of  the  meeting  of  the 
Evangelical  Alliance  in  New  York,  and  plead 
for  money  to  erect  the  new  Union  Church  build- 
ing. He  was  now  sixty-three  years  old,  feeling 
that  he  had  "  accomplished  little  in  life,"  but 
saying,  "  I  want  to  accomplish  something  for 
Japan  that  shall  live  after  me  when  I  am  gone. 
This  incites  me  to  work  at  the  translation  of  the 
Scriptures."  To  him  all  his  varied  work  was 
Christian  work,  that  is,  he  was  earnest  in  all  he 
did  to  the  glory  of  his  Saviour.  He  felt  that 
"  all  service  ranks  the  same  with  God." 

In  the  year  of  our  Lord  1873  the  Christians 
in  Japan,  though  so  few  in  number,  felt  a  glow  of 
hope,  for  the  anti-Christian  edicts  had  been  re- 
moved. There  was  no  law  of  Japan  prohibiting 
the  religion  of  Christ.  The  Mikado's  empire 
was  open  to  the  gospel.  Dr.  Brown's  letters  con- 
trast the  years  1859  and  1873.  What  hath  God 
wrought!  A  meeting  was  held  by  the  native 
Christians  on  Washington's  Birthday  to  celebrate 
religious  freedom.  Tell  the  American  Christians, 
they  said  through  their  teacher,  "  to  send  more 
and  better  men  to  this  country."  This  was  the 
burden  of  Dr.  Brown's  urgent  appeal  to  Miss 
Hequemborg,  who,  after  some  months  of  noble 
service  in  Japan,  was  going  home  on  account  of 
failing  health.  "  Tell  the  churches  to  send  their 
best  men  and  women  to  Japan.  We  must  have  a 
native  ministry  soon."  Yet  there  were  tares 
also.     Besides  the  churches  of  Rome,  of  Russia, 


A  Spiritual  Engineer  261 

and  of  the  Reformed  faith  based  on  the  Bible, 
there  are  many  missionaries  of  the  synagogue  of 
Satan  teaching  the  Japanese  that  Christianity  is 
a  reHgion  fit  only  for  women  and  fools,  and  much 
of  the  port  journalism  was  not  of  a  sort  to 
recommend  either  Christianity  or  civilization  to 
the  Japanese. 

In  another  interesting  visit  to  Tokio  in  Febru- 
ary, 1874,  he  preached  again  in  the  Union 
Church,  wherein  the  day  before  Mr.  Thompson 
married  two  native  couples  in  the  Christian  way. 
On  Sunday  afternoon,  with  Mr.  Edward  Warren 
Clark,  he  visited  the  private  school  of  Mr.  Naka- 
mura,  who  had  visited  Europe,  written  a  famous 
memorial  to  the  government  on  freedom  of 
religion,  translated  Mill  "  On  Liberty "  and 
Smiles'  **  Self  Help,"  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  other  standard  works  in 
English  literature.  He  was  a  Christian  and  a 
profound  scholar  in  Chinese.  His  school  of  one 
hundred  pupils  was  situated  near  the  Kiristan- 
zaka  or  Christian  Slope.  Dr.  Brown  talked  to 
eighteen  young  men  on  the  first  chapter  of 
Romans,  one  of  the  teachers  in  the  ordinary 
Bible  class  of  the  more  advanced  pupils  being 
one  of  his  former  pupils. 

Referring  to  the  translation  which  he  had 
made  of  the  manuscript  work  of  the  famous 
Confucian  scholar  and  philosopher  Arai  Haku- 
seki,  concerning  the  Italian  priest,  Jean  Baptiste 
Sidotti,  who  in  1607  landed  in  Japan  as  a  Chris- 


262       A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

tian  missionary  and  was  taken  to  Yedo  and  here 
imprisoned  until  he  died.  Dr.  Brown  wrote: 

**  Now  on  the  site  of  the  prison  is  a  school  of 
one  hundred  young  men  with  Christian  teachers, 
and  a  lot  near  by  is  already  secured  for  a  Chris- 
tian church.  .  .  Thus  the  time  may  not  be  far 
distant  when  the  place  that  once  was  a  prison  to 
those  called  Christians  and  intended  to  stamp 
out  the  last  vestiges  of  the  religion  of  Christ, 
shall  be  distinguished  as  a  site  for  a  temple  to 
the  living  God,  and  crowds  of  this  people  shall 
resort  to  the  house  of  prayer  on  the  Christian 
slope  in  the  capital  of  Japan.  May  the  name, 
which  that  locality  has  retained  for  more  than 
two  centuries  and  a  half,  prove  to  have  been  a 
prophecy  of  better  days  coming." 


Training  a  Native  Ministry 


XXI 

Training  a   Native   Ministry 

THE  time  was  ripe  for  the  formation  of  a 
native  ministry,  of  men  who  could  speak 
of  the  wonderful  works  of  God  in  their 
own  tongue.  By  vote  of  the  Church,  eight 
young  men  under  Dr.  Brown's  instruction, 
and  studying  English  preparatory  to  theo- 
logical study,  were  selected.  Two  more,  one 
of  them  recommended  by  Mrs.  Pruyn,  of 
the  American  Mission  Home,  were  added,  mak- 
ing ten  in  all.  Their  future  was  not  yet 
without  clouds,  for  pagan  bigotry  was  still 
rampant,  and  not  a  few  government  officials 
hated  with  perfect  hatred  the  idea  of  free- 
dom of  conscience.  One  of  these  was  the 
old  conservative  Shimadzu  Saburo  of  Satsuma, 
a  cabinet  minister.  Democracy,  Christianity, 
and  the  new  ideas  of  the  West  were  not  to  come 
in  without  bitter  opposition  by  men  reared  in  the 
ferocious  virtues  of  Bushido.  Although  "  Sat- 
suma "  had  extirpated  Buddhism  in  his  own  prov- 
ince, yet  any  stick  would  do  to  beat  a  Christian 
with.  Okuno  and  Ogawa,  elders  of  the  Yoko- 
hama church,  and  other  Christians  of  the  Tokio 
church    were    summoned    before    his    court,    to 

865 


266      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

answer  for  burying  a  woman  according  to  Chris- 
tian forms  in  a  Buddhist  graveyard,  she  being  a 
Christian  convert  member  of  the  Yokohama 
church.  In  reaHty  neither  of  these  men  had 
anything  to  do  with  the  ceremonies  of  burial, 
but  merely  attended  the  funeral.  The  Rev. 
David  Thompson  officiated.  The  elders  were 
roughly  treated  in  court,  but  Thompson  came 
forward  in  their  behalf  and  no  further  molesta- 
tion was  made.  Shimadzu  soon  found  the  air 
of  modern  Tokio  too  bracing  and  the  current  of 
progress  too  unpleasant,  and  so  resigned  office 
and  left  for  his  native  haunts. 

"  Lights  are  multiplying  in  the  pagan  darkness 
as  the  lighthouses  on  the  coast  are  increasing  in 
number,"  wrote  Dr.  Brown  in  April,  1874.  The 
church  building  was  rising  on  the  church  lot 
on  the  old  Perry  treaty  ground — fit  monument 
of  America's  good  will  to  Japan.  Dr.  D.  C. 
Greene  was  about  to  organize  churches  at  Osaka 
and  Hiogo.  Already  steps  had  been  taken  for 
the  beginning  of  theological  education,  and  in 
Dr.  Brown's  own  house  began  what  was  to  grow 
into  the  superb  Meiji  Gaku-in  of  to-day. 

This  class  for  theological  instruction  grew  out 
of  the  pupils  taught  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  H. 
Ballagh,  which  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the 
First  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan,  March  10,  1872. 
Among  other  branches  early  taught  them  was 
music,  and  the  progress  of  their  pupils  in 
this  culture  marks  an  epoch  in  the  civilization  of 


Training  a  Native  Ministry       267 

Japan.  When  the  missionaries  were  compelled 
to  remove  from  Kanagawa  to  Yokohama,  it  fell 
to  the  lot  of  Mrs.  Ballagh  to  teach  the  prepara- 
tory classes  and  singing.  It  was  a  work  of 
tremendous  difficulty  to  get  the  Japanese  lads  to 
raise  their  voices  to  the  proper  key.  Several 
musicians,  and  critical  students  who  had  also 
been  in  China,  like  Dr.  J.  C.  Hepburn  and  Rev. 
E.  W.  Syle,  after  a  year  or  more  of  experiment 
and  failure,  had  expressed  the  opinion  that  our 
musical  scale  would  have  to  be  altered  to  suit 
the  low,  guttural  voices  of  the  Japanese.  Dr. 
Syle  had  even  begun  the  serious  work  of  arrang- 
ing a  scale  of  music  to  suit  the  Japanese  voice.* 
Mrs.  Ballagh,  however,  believed  that,  with  pa- 
tience and  perseverance,  their  voices  could  be 
raised  to  the  proper  pitch. 

"  Oh,  woman,  great  is  thy  faith ! "  It  was  a 
very  happy  morning  when  one  boy,  under  the 
eye  and  voice  of  his  teacher,  was  psychologically 
so  lifted  up  that  he  falteringly,  but  surely,  ran 
up  the  scale.  Verily  this  was  a  moment  of 
triumph  in  the  history  of  civilization  in  Japan ! 

From  that  hour  other  lads,  fired  with  true 
Japanese  ambition,  and  determined  not  to  be  left 
behind  in  the  race,  mastered  the  scale,  and  sang 
Occidental  music  with  delight.     In  a  few  weeks 

*See  his  paper  on  "  Primitive  Music,  especially  that 
of  Japan,"  in  Transactions  of  the  Asiatic  Society  of 
Japan  (vol.  v.  p.  170)  and  papers  on  Japanese  music  by 
other  writers. 


268      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

the  teacher  was  enabled  to  send  word  to  Dr. 
Syle,  "  to  come  and  hear  our  boys  sing."  He 
came,  heard,  and  declared  himself  delighted.  He 
went  home,  destroyed  his  tentative  musical  scale, 
and  sent  Mrs.  Ballagh  a  melodeon  to  assist  her 
voice  and  theirs  in  opening  a  new  era  in  music 
in  Japan.  Now  Occidental  music  is  the  rule  in 
all  the  Christian  and  many  of  the  public  schools, 
and  is  played  by  the  regimental  army  and  navy 
musicians,  and  brass  bands  form  a  feature  of 
most  public  festal  gatherings. 

In  the  Japan  Evangelist  for  December,  1895, 
the  Rev.  K.  Y.  Fujiu  wrote,  as  follows,  concern- 
ing "  The  Yokohama  Band,"  "  a  company  of 
young  men  who,  from  the  year  1872,  studied 
under  Rev.  Dr.  S.  R.  Brown,  in  a  little  room 
appended  to  his  lodgings  at  No.  211  Bluff, 
Yokohama. 

"  Their  names  were  Maki,  Oshikawa,  Honda, 
Shinozaki  (deceased),  Yoshida,  Ibuka,  Kumano, 
Uemura,  Ito,  Igashira  (deceased),  Kawakatsu, 
Yamamoto,  Amenomori,  Sugo  (now  Furusawa), 
Fujiu,  and  several  others.  Those  who  were 
ordained  afterward  were  Messrs.  Maki,  Oshi- 
kawa, Honda,  Ibuka,  Uemura,  Ito,  Kawakatsu, 
Yamamoto,  Furusawa,  and  Fujiu. 

"  They  were  Christians,  but  they  belonged  to 
no  particular  denomination.  Indeed  the  exist- 
ence of  denominations  was  unknown  to  them. 
The  converts  of  missionaries  sent  out  by  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church,  or  by  the  Presbyterian 


Training  a  Native  Ministry       269 

Church,  or  by  the  American  Board,  all  mingled 
together,  unconscious  of  any  ecclesiastical  dis- 
tinction between  them.  All  they  thought  about 
themselves  was  that  they  were  Japanese  Chris- 
tians. 

The  truth,  however,  was  gradually  revealed 
to  them  that  there  were  different  denomina- 
tions in  America,  and  that,  as  they  had  been 
converted  under  the  influence  of  missionaries  of 
different  churches,  they  should  each  belong  to 
the  American  denomination  under  whose  mis- 
sionary they  were  converted.  This  threw  the 
young  converts  into  a  state  of  consternation. 
There  were  several  older  Christians,  such  as 
Messrs.  (now  Revs.)  Okuno  and  Ogawa,  who 
were  much  respected  by  the  younger  believers. 
With  these  they  consulted  as  to  whether  they 
should  submit  and  become  members  of  a  foreign 
denomination,  or  whether  they  should  organize 
an  independent  church,  free  from  sectarian  color- 
ing and  spirit.  A  number  of  meetings  were  held 
and  the  matter  was  thoroughly  debated.  Finally 
the  decision  was  reached  to  organize  an  independ- 
ent church  of  Christ  in  Japan,  and  a  constitu- 
tion was  drawn  up.  The  church  was  named 
*  Nihon  Kirisuto  Kyokwai.'  (Japan  Christian 
Church).  It  would  be  too  much  to  say  that  the 
members  of  the  *  Band '  were  the  sole  movers  in 
this  action,  but  it  is  certain  that  they  constituted 
the  predominant  factor  in  it.  Messrs.  Shinozaki, 
Honda,  Maki,  Oshikawa,  Kumano,  and  Yoshida, 


270      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

being  the  seniors  in  age,  represented  the  *  Band  ' 
in  this  matter. 

"  In  addition  to  this  step  toward  the  founding 
of  an  independent  church,  the  students  under 
Dr.  Brown  dechned  any  longer  to  receive  support 
from  the  mission.  Having  no  other  means  of 
Hvelihood,  they  were  thus  reduced  to  the  neces- 
sity of  engaging  in  manual  labor  in  order  to 
maintain  themselves.  Some  became  doorkeepers ; 
some,  night  watchmen ;  some,  pullers  of  weeds  in 
gardens ;  while  a  few  were  so  fortunate  as  to 
find  positions  as  language-teachers  to  foreigners. 
It  was  a  strange  sight — that  of  the  once  proud 
and  ambitious  young  men  engaging  in  such  lowly 
occupations  for  one  half  of  the  day,  that  they 
might  study  for  the  ministry  the  other  half. 

"  When  finally  the  relation  between  the  foreign 
missions  and  the  young  Japanese  Church  became 
satisfactorily  adjusted,  the  new  organization 
appeared  before  the  world  under  the  title  of 
*  Nippon  Kirisuto  Itchi  Kyokwai '  (The  United 
Church  of  Christ  in  Japan).  It  was  hoped  that 
this  *  United  Church '  would  at  an  early  day  be 
a  union  of  all  the  different  denominations  already 
founded  in  Japan. 

"  The  rest  of  the  young  men  studied  under  Dr. 
Brown  until  the  summer  of  1877.  Then  the 
Union  Theological  Seminary  having  been  estab- 
lished in  Tokyo  under  the  auspices  of  the  mis- 
sions co-operating  with  the  United  Church  of 
Christ,  they  were  transferred  to  that  school." 


Training  a  Native  Ministry       271 

Other  very  interesting  items  concerning  the 
master  and  his  pupils  are  given  in  this  "  memorial 
number  "  of  the  Japan  Evangelist,  showing  the 
prominence  of  Dr.  Brown's  disciples  as  heads 
of  Christian  schools  and  colleges,  professors, 
editors,  and  pastors,  in  the  building  of  the  Chris- 
tian Japan  that  is  coming  and  now  is.  The  list 
of  other  pupils  active  in  law,  medicine,  journal- 
ism, diplomacy,  and  business  is  too  large  to 
transcribe  here. 

The  protracted  labors  of  organizing  and  teach- 
ing in  the  new  theological  school,  with  the  ex- 
acting work  of  translation,  were  too  much  for  a 
man  in  his  sixties.  They  broke  down  Dr. 
Brown's  health,  and  he  took  a  sea  trip  to  Kobe 
to  consult  Dr.  Berry,  the  medical  missionary, 
who  ordered  complete  rest.  Later  he  went  over 
to  Shanghai,  the  time  being  between  September 
12  and  December  19.  Dr.  Berry  helped  him  a 
good  deal,  but  evidently  here  was  the  turning 
point  in  his  physical  power.  "  It  is  not  likely," 
he  wrote,  "  that  I  shall  ever  be  able  to  work  as 
I  have  done  formerly.  My  disease  is  neuralgia 
and  affects  my  heart.  If  I  can  keep  up  the 
school  for  the  theological  students,  by  the  aid  of 
my  daughter  and  niece,  and  work  at  the  transla- 
tion of  the  Scriptures,  I  shall  be  thankful.  These 
young  ladies  (our  daughter  Hattie  and  Miss 
Winn  of  Illinois)  have  had  entire  charge  of  the 
school  during  my  absence,  and  have  done  a  good 
work  and  done  it  well." 


272      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

So  many  active  American  missionaries  at  work 
in  Japan  meant  leaven  and  its  working.  The 
spring  of  1875  seemed  a  time  of  many  and 
mighty  changes,  and  especially  of  the  freedom 
of  the  press,  with  its  unchecked  boldness.  One 
writer  advocated  the  abolition  of  the  department 
of  religion  with  its  ninety-seven  officers,  costing 
$55,000  a  year.  '*  Religion,"  the  writer  says, 
"  should  be  left  to  the  free  will  of  the  people." 
Another  called  for  a  national  parliament  or  con- 
gress. Another  lashed  the  lazy  samurai  who 
received  pensions  to  the  amount  of  $20,000,000 
a  year,  all  of  which  came  out  of  the  pockets  of 
the  tillers  of  the  soil.  Still  another  article 
affirmed  that  ''  Christianity  seems  to  be  becoming 
popular  and  powerful,  while  our  religions  are 
moving  in  the  opposite  direction  and  are  decay- 
ing." In  a  word,  the  people  were  speaking 
through  the  new  native  press,  while  the  govern- 
ment had  as  yet  given  no  sign  of  discontent. 
The  Japanese  had  embarked  on  commercial 
rivalry  and  were  determined  to  win  the  coasting 
trade  and  the  ferry  to  China.  "  They  have 
bought  steamers  for  Shanghai  in  opposition  to 
the  P.  M.  S.  S.  Co.  As  often  as  a  steamer  of 
the  latter  company  starts  for  China,  a  Japanese 
steamer  weighs  her  anchor  at  the  same  moment 
to  start  for  China  too.  Fare  and  freights  have 
thus  been  reduced  to  so  low  a  rate  that  one  or 
the  other  of  these  companies  must  succumb  be- 
fore long."     The  issue  was  a  Japanese  victory. 


Training  a  Native  Ministry       273 

At  the  opening  of  the  American  centennial 
year  (1876),  5750  copies  of  the  gospel  of  St. 
Luke  had  been  published  in  Japanese,  and  all 
except  54  copies  disposed  of.  Romans  was  half 
finished,  and  the  translators  had  just  finished  the 
first  draft  of  translation  of  Acts.  The  mission- 
aries were  impatient,  wanting  to  get  the  Scrip- 
tures circulated,  and  pressing  the  committees  to 
issue  portions  of  the  Bible  in  less  carefully 
elaborated  versions.  The  most  recent  arrivals 
were  loudest  in  their  clamors.  Nevertheless, 
translation  was  an  arduous  task.  The  Japanese, 
except  in  rare  instances,  had  not  cultivated  their 
own  language,  but  spent  their  time  in  writing 
Chinese;  not  improving  it,  but  only  corrupting 
the  Chinese.  As  Chinese  was  entirely  a  foreign 
language  in  Japan,  no  one  read  a  book  in  Chinese 
as  it  was  written.  It  had  to  be  translated,  as 
one  reads,  into  a  mongrel  dialect  of  words  in 
Chinese  with  Japanese  endings  and  by  connect- 
ing particles.  The  Chinese  characters  must  be 
shuffled  about  from  place  to  place  in  the  sen- 
tences, in  order  to  make  them  intelligible  or 
readable  by  a  Japanese.  Thus  the  study  of 
Chinese  had  not  helped  the  Japanese  to  improve 
their  own  language.  Indeed  it  had  prevented 
them  from  doing  so.  The  Japanese  would  have 
been  far  better  off  to  have  cultivated  their  own 
tongue  and  "  missionaries  then  would  not  have 
been  compelled  to  study  two  such  antipodal 
tongues  in  order  to  master  one."    Another  trouble 


2  74      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

was  the  absence  of  any  standard  native  literature. 
Thus  the  Japanese  paid  the  penalty  of  neglect — 
a  neglect  seemingly  inconsistent  with  their  strong 
national  pride. 

Is  it  too  much  to  say  that  it  is  largely  owing  to 
the  missionaries  that  the  Japanese  were  stimu- 
lated to  restudy  and  cultivate  their  language, 
even  as  Motley  spurred  the  Dutch  scholars  to 
investigate  their  own  history?  Indeed  it  is 
almost  certain  that  no  revival  of  nationalism, 
research,  or  literary  activity  and  expression  would 
have  been  possible  but  for  "  the  religious  in- 
vasion "  of  the  "  hired  converters." 

"  Another  consequence,"  wrote  Dr.  Brown, 
"  is  that  the  best-informed  men  of  the  country 
are  unable  to  agree  as  to  the  literary  style  best 
adapted  to  the  people  at  large,  and  foreign  trans- 
lators are  at  a  loss  to  decide  this  question  for 
themselves.  Some  want  more  and  some  less  of 
the  Chinese  intermixture  with  the  Japanese,  and 
some  would  have  none  at  all."  The  trans- 
lator's desire  was  "  to  produce  a  version  of  the 
Scriptures  that  shall  not  only  be  intelligible  to 
the  people,  but  commend  itself  as  a  literary  pro- 
duction, and  so  become  in  time  a  standard  book 
to  influence  the  national  mind,  as  King  James* 
version  has  affected  the  English-speaking  por- 
tion of  mankind." 

Considering  the  rendering  of  the  Greek  word 
haptizo,  thirty  out  of  forty-six  missionaries 
were  in  favor  of  translitering  the  word  by  means 


Training  a  Native  Ministry       275 

of  the  kana,  instead  of  using  the  Chinese  sen-rai, 
meaning  "  washing  aright,"  or  of  making  a  trans- 
lation. The  veteran  Baptist  missionary,  Dr. 
Nathan  Brown,  had  said  to  S.  R.  Brown,  **  if  the 
word  was  simply  translated,  our  version  would 
probably  be  the  standard  one  in  Japan,  though 
it  was  possible  that  if  their  own  mission  pros- 
pered, they  would  have  a  version  of  their  own  for 
purposes  of  instruction,  while  ours  would  be 
used  in  the  pulpit."  As  matter  of  fact,  both  of 
this  grand  old  man's  intimations  became  true. 
The  Union  version  became  the  standard.  Then, 
mainly  by  Dr.  Nathan  Brown's  own  efforts,  and 
under  his  supervision,  a  noble  translation  of  the 
New  Testament  was  made,  especially  for  use  by 
Christians  of  the  Baptist  name,  by  Mr.  Kawa- 
katsu,  one  of  Dr.  S.  R.  Brown's  pupils. 

Now  would  the  reader  like  to  have  a  picture 
of  the  group  of  translators  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment in  Japanese? 

Such  a  picture  is  given  in  a  letter  written 
April  II,  1901,  by  the  wife  of  a  surgeon  in  the 
United  States  army — "  Harold  Ballagh,"  not 
unknown  to  literary  fame.  This  daughter  of 
the  Rev.  J.  H.  Ballagh  was  born  in  Yokohama 
and  grew  up  in  Japan  as  if  this  fair  land  of 
camellias  were  her  own,  so  that,  instead  of  open- 
ing her  eyes  wonderingly  at  what  she  saw 
around  her,  she  took  the  Japanese  world,  with 
all  its  beauty  and  glory,  always  excepting  its 
paganism  and  ignorance,  as  her  own.     She  knew 


276      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

"  Verbeck  of  Japan  "  even  better  than  Dr.  Brown, 
for  she  saw  him  oftener.     She  writes : 

"  Dr.  Brown  Hved  in  a  large  bungalow,  sur- 
rounded by  extensive  grounds,  on  the  English 
Bluff.  Anna  and  I  considered  it  a  great  treat 
to  go  to  see  the  Browns,  as  they  had  an  aviary 
in  the  front  garden,  before  which  we  stood  en- 
tranced, watching  real  birds,  with  real  nests,  on 
real  branches,  keeping  house  merrily.  The 
walks  were  of  shell  and  bordered  by  bushes 
of  bursting  pomegranates.  Cozy  dwarf  trees 
formed  fairy-like  arbors  for  little  girls  with 
dolls.  Now  and  then  we  would  steal  in  with 
overpowering  awe,  to  watch  the  learned  trans- 
lators of  the  Scriptures.  We  knew  that  the 
seventy  had  translated  the  Old  Testament  very, 
very  many  years  before,  and  we  wondered  if 
these  men  were  as  great  as  the  70's. 

"  A  large,  long  table  extended  down  the  room 
and  a  bay  window  let  in  floods  of  light;  under 
the  window  the  pomegranates  blushed  at  the 
frivolity  of  their  existence,  while  such  moment- 
ous work  was  going  on.  The  table  was  piled 
high  with  books  and  the  chairs  were  reserved  for 
the  same  occupants — much  as  editors'  chairs  on 
metropolitan  newspapers  are.  Japanese  assist- 
ants with  long  white  beards  filled  me  with  the 
same  awe  that  the  venerable  domines  did.  There 
was  a  large  buffet  in  the  room,  and  I  often  won- 
dered if  these  good  men  ever  condescended  to 
refresh  themselves  like  ordinary  mortals. 


Training  a  Native  Ministry       277 


t( 


The  daily  sessions  were  opened  with  prayer. 
All  discussions  were  conducted  with  wellbred 
formality  and  in  low  tone. 

"  I  have  been  told  that  the  translation  of  the 
Scriptures  took  years  to  perform,  and  the  fact 
that  these  many  lives  were  spared  daily  to  con- 
duct this  work,  impressed  me  powerfully.  Each 
man  worked  upon  a  different  portion  of  the  Bible, 
and  I  used  privately  to  wonder  which  had  the 
most  difficult  task. 

"  My  sister  and  I  would  tip-toe  from  the  room 
and  whisper,  until  we  got  well  out  of  range  of 
the  bay  window.  The  awe  of  that  chamber  was 
in  my  mind  associated  with  the  individuals  who 
worked  there.  I  was  afraid  to  laugh  in  their 
presence,  even  in  the  garden.  I  do  not  know  if 
Dr.  Brown  guessed  this,  but  one  day  he  brought 
out  two  young  puppies  that  belonged  to  his  son 
Bob. 

"  *  Guess  their  names,'  he  said.  My  sister  and 
I  timidly  suggested  certain  conventional  names. 

"  *  No,  no ! '  he  cried,  laughing.  '  Their  name 
is  Belzebub.' 

**  We  were  properly  shocked. 

"  *  Say  Bel  and  Bub  very  fast,'  he  ordered. 

"  He  laughed  heartily  as  we  obeyed,  and  made 
inquiry : 

"  *  Don't  you  see  why  it's  Belzebub  ?  It's  so 
much  easier  to  say.' 

"  Mr.  Brown  was  a  very  broad-minded  man. 
He  drank  wine  in  moderation  and  shocked  some 


278      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

of  his  associates  by  taking  his  family  to  the 
theater  or  opera  in  San  Francisco,  as  a  treat, 
after  many  years'  residence  in  Japan.  He  re- 
garded it  as  perfectly  innocent  and  cultivating." 

America's  centennial  year  of  1876  was  that  of 
whitening  gospel  harvests  in  the  Mikado's  em- 
pire, and  the  time  to  thrust  in  the  sickle  had 
come.  The  good  seed  dropped  at  Niigata  had 
turned  into  thriving  blades  above  the  soil.  One 
of  Dr.  Brown's  pupils  named  Oshikawa,  an 
elder  in  the  church  at  Yokohama,  and  now  a 
pastor,  was  commissioned  by  the  church  to  go 
to  the  west  coast.  On  his  way  thither,  in  Shin- 
shiu,  he  found  a  small  band  of  men  who  had 
formed^  a  temperance  society,  taking  the  Ten 
Commandments  for  a  constitution.  They  met 
on  the  Sabbath  and  read  such  Scripture  as  they 
were  able  to  get,  as  the  translation  of  the  New 
Testament  came  out  in  parts.  Oshikawa  stayed 
with  them  three  days,  preaching  and  teaching. 
The  consequence  was  that  soon  after  one  of  the 
band  came  to  Yokohama  to  get  a  teacher.  An- 
other elder  of  the  church,  Shinozaki,  decided  to 
go  with  them.  At  Niigata  Oshikawa  *  reported 
fourteen  converts.  Dr.  Brown  thus  lost  two 
good  pupils,  but  who  could  refuse  such  calls? 
He  was  now  teaching  Greek,  and  lecturing  to 
about  a  dozen  candidates  for  the  ministry  on 
Biblical   history.     Thus,   with   the  exception  of 

*  Afterward    founder   of     Christian    churches   and 
schools  at  Sendai. 


Training  a  Native  Ministry       279 

four  or  five  hours  a  week,  all  his  work  was  upon 
translation. 

From  Kumamoto  in  Higo,  in  the  island  of  the 
Nine  Provinces,  came  the  news  that  Dr.  Scud- 
der's  daughter  and  her  husband  held  prayer  meet- 
ings with  twenty  pupils.  Out  of  this  enterprise 
grew  the  famous  "  Kumamoto  Band,"  so  well 
described  in  Dr.  Gordon's  book,  "  The  American 
Missionary  in  Japan."  From  Hirosaki,  up  in 
the  north  of  Hondo,  was  a  church  of  twenty-four 
members,  under  the  pastoral  care  of  Mr.  Honda, 
a  member  of  the  Yokohama  church  (now  Rev. 
Dr.  Honda,  President  of  the  Methodist  College, 
in  Tokio,  Aoyama  Gakuin).  "Behold,  how 
brightly  breaks  the  morning." 

Perhaps  this  helped  to  improve  the  doctor's 
health.  "  The  spasms  of  angina  pectoris  are 
very  much  less  violent,  and  less  frequent  than 
they  were  formerly.  I  can  work  within  doors  as 
much  as  most  men.  Physical  exertion,  except 
of  the  lightest  kind,  gives  me  pain.  .  .  I  cannot 
walk  at  any  pace  uphill  without  suffering  pain- 
fully." 

There  was  also  a  native  church  at  Hirosaki  in 
the  north,  at  Yamanaka,  and  at  Numadz.  All 
wanted  more  gospel  and  had  candidates  ready 
for  baptism.  Thus  churches  were  now  spring- 
ing up  where,  ten  years  before,  were  no  signs  of 
even  single  conversions.  The  era  of  the  seed 
was  past,  that  of  the  blade  had  come. 

How  the  years  of  1876  and  1877  were  spent 


28o       A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

may  be  gathered  from  Rev.  M.  Oshikawa's  trib- 
ute in  the  Japan  Evangelist  of  December,  1895 : 

"  Dr.  S.  R.  Brown  was  a  great  man.  Of  all 
the  missionaries  that  have  come  to  this  country  I 
consider  him  the  most  worthy  of  reverence.  I 
do  not  think  that  he  was  so  earnest  in  direct 
missionary  work,  but  this  was  only  because  he 
understood  so  well  the  true  secret  of  successful 
missionary  effort  in  Japan,  and  worked  accord- 
ingly. He  always  said  to  us :  *  I  believe  that  the 
best  plan  for  the  evangelization  of  Japan  is  to 
educate  Japanese  young  men.  Just  think ! '  he 
would  say ;  *  twenty  Japanese  preachers  educated 
in  my  school !  That  means  twenty  Browns  sent 
out  into  the  world.  How  much  better  and 
greater  a  work  will  they  perform  than  I  could ! 
They  will  understand  the  habits  and  customs  of 
the  people,  and  can  speak  in  their  mother  tongue, 
while  I  have  an  imperfect  knowledge  of  the 
people  and  of  their  language.  For  these  reasons 
I  educate  young  Japanese.'  The  Japan  of  twenty 
years  ago  was  much  different  from  the  Japan 
of  to-day,  and  it  would  have  been  impossible  for 
Dr.  Brown  to  see  these  things  so  clearly,  if  he 
had  not  been  a  truly  far-sighted  man." 


A  Voage  in  Southern  Seas 


XXII 
A  Voyage  in  Southern  Seas 

IN  February,  1877,  the  American  bark  Agate, 
sailing  through  Dampier's  Strait — one  of  the 
noted  highways  of  the  eastern  archipelago, 
north  of  New  Guinea — was  boarded  by  natives 
of  Battanta  Island.  In  broken  English,  and  by 
the  aid  of  signs,  they  made  it  known  that  on  some 
island  to  the  northward,  a  company  of  sixteen 
white  men  and  one  woman  had  been  cast  away. 

At  Shanghai  the  officers  of  the  Alert  told  this 
news  to  the  United  States  consul  general.  The 
British  Admiral  Ryder,  who  was  also  informed, 
notified  the  British  commander-in-chief  of  the 
Australian  station.  Lieutenant  Commander  A. 
S.  Barker,  of  the  U.  S.  S.  S.  Alert,  was  ordered 
to  proceed  at  once  to  look  up  the  supposed  cast- 
aways and  also  to  examine  certain  dangers  to 
navigation. 

The  consul  general  at  once  sent  a  dispatch  to 
Rear  Admiral  Reynolds  of  the  American  naval 
forces,  who  was  then  at  Yokohama  on  his  flag- 
ship, the  Tennessee.  He  was  the  brother  of  Gen- 
eral Reynolds  killed  at  Gettysburg — the  only 
major  general  of  the  Union  side  who  died  in 
battle  during  the  Civil  War.  There,  in  the  cabin, 

283 


284      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

sat  also  Dr.  Brown,  who  was  making,  according 
to  his  custom,  a  call  on  the  American  rear  ad- 
miral in  command. 

What  follows  is  told  in  1902  in  the  language 
of  Rear  Admiral  A.  S.  Barker,  then  in  command 
of  the  U.  S.  S.  S.  Alert.  He  was  then  lieuten- 
ant commander  and  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  War, 
having  served  in  the  side-wheel  steam  frigate 
Mississippi — Perry's  former  flagship  in  Japan — 
under  Farragut,  on  the  mighty  river  of  the  same 
name. 

"  In  obedience  to  signal  I  had  gone  aboard 
to  report  to  the  admiral.  He  asked  me  to  leave 
as  soon  as  possible  to  go  in  search  of  this  sup- 
posed shipwrecked  crew. 

"  Seeing  that  Dr.  Brown  appeared  to  be  inter- 
ested in  the  projected  cruise,  I,  in  a  half-joking 
manner,  asked  him  if  he  would  like  to  go  with 
me.  He  refused  in  a  non-committal  way,  and  I 
thought  no  more  of  it,  until  early  the  next  morn- 
ing the  orderly  reported  that  Dr.  Brown  was  on 
board  and  wished  to  speak  with  me.  This  was 
before  breakfast. 

"  Dr.  Brown  said  he  had  come  off  to  see  if  I 
were  in  earnest  in  asking  him  to  go  with  me.  I 
laughed  and  said,  '  To  tell  the  truth,  I  was  only 
half  in  earnest,  as  I  did  not  think  for  a  moment 
that  you  would  care  to  go  with  me,  even  if  you 
could  do  so,  but  I  would  really  be  glad  if  you 
would  go  as  my  guest.' 

"  He  said  he  had  mentioned  the  matter  to  his 


A  Voyage  in  Southern  Seas       285 

wife  and  to  some  of  his  friends,  and  all  had 
agreed  that  it  would  do  him  good,  because  he 
needed  rest.  He  was,  as  you  know,  a  man  of 
fine  presence,  dignified  but  pleasant,  and  the 
officers  and  men  were  glad  to  have  him  with  us." 

So,  leaving  the  English  part  of  his  infant  theo- 
logical seminary  in  the  care  of  such  excellent 
teachers  as  his  daughter,  Miss  Brown,  and  her 
cousin,  Miss  Winn,  and  with  the  admiral's  per- 
mission, the  domine  started  on  a  six  weeks'  trip 
to  spicy  islands  and  sunny  seas.  The  man-of- 
war  had  to  go  under  sail,  for  coaling  stations 
were  few. 

Their  first  call  was  at  Port  Lloyd  on  the 
Bonin  Islands,*  of  which  the  Japanese  govern- 
ment had  recently  taken  possession  as  a  pos- 
sible "  telegraph  pole  in  the  ocean,"  and  against 
future  political  contingencies.  Thence  the 
Alert  moved  into  a  gale  between  the  Bonin  and 
the  Ladrone  islands.  At  Port  Louis,  on  Guam, 
they  reached  on  June  5,  at  9.30  a.  m.,  what  was 
then  Spanish  and  now  American  territory,  hop- 
ing to  get  fresh  food  and  fruit.  A  man  having 
the  word  pratico  on  his  cap-band  boarded 
the  ship.  The  captain  of  the  port  lived  five 
miles  away.  He  did  not  come  on  board,  and 
Captain  Barker,  after  waiting  until  1.30  p.  m., 
hoisted  anchor  and  left  the  place,  notwithstand- 
ing his  great  disappointment  that  no  fish,  pro- 
visions, or  fruit  could  be  obtained.  These  were 
♦  See  "  Matthew  Calbraith  Perry,"  p.  420. 


286      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

the  days  of  Spanish  ownership,  and  twenty-three 
years  from  the  time  when  the  Stars  and  Stripes 
were  hoisted  over  this  fair  island,  about  one  hun- 
dred miles  in  circumference. 

The  trade  winds  blew  for  several  days  and 
until  they  reached  the  Mariana  Islands,  where 
was  a  Spanish  penal  settlement  with  one  thou- 
sand convicts,  rationed  by  the  government,  but 
allowed  to  do  as  they  pleased  and  what  they 
pleased,  for  there  was  no  fear  of  their  getting 
away  from  the  island.  The  population  of  nearly 
five  thousand  was  ruled  by  a  governor,  whose 
name  was  Don  Manuel  Bravo.  The  mail 
reached  him  every  six  months.  A  small  and  an- 
tiquated fort  in  the  southeast  part  of  the  harbor, 
with  a  garrison  of  five  soldiers  and  a  corporal, 
and  with  an  armament  of  four  small  guns,  was 
flying  the  Spanish  flag.  They  were  two  days 
distant  from  Dampier's  Strait  and  in  north  lati- 
tude 124°  and  in  east  longitude  135°  38',  on  June 
16,  1877,  when  Dr.  Brown  was  sixty-seven  years 
old.  As  they  celebrated  his  birthday,  he  re- 
called that  this  was  the  way  through  which  he 
had  passed  on  the  way  to  China  in  1838. 

On  June  17  they  sighted  the  island,  perhaps 
we  should  say  the  continent,  of  New  Guinea, 
the  scene  of  God's  wonderful  work  through 
Paton,  Lawes,  and  Chalmers.*  On  June  19 
they  steamed  slowly  through  the  coral  reefs, — 

*  See  the  biography  of  James  Chalmers,  New  York, 
1902. 


A  Voyage  in  Southern  Seas      287 

lovely  to  look  at,  but  frightful  to  encounter, — 
around  the  west  end  of  King  William  Island, 
and  cast  anchor  at  i  p.  m.,  opposite  the  small  vil- 
lage of  Bessin,  visited  a  few  years  before  by  Al- 
fred Russell  Wallace,  author  of  "  The  Malay 
Archipelago."  Here  he  had  remained  about  six 
weeks,  July  to  September,  i860,  collecting  speci- 
mens and  securing  data  for  his  profound  theo- 
ries, which  rank  with  Darwin's  in  constructive 
influence. 

Not  a  soul  was  to  be  seen  in  house  or  canoe 
at  Bessin,  but  only  a  yellow  dog.  The  birds 
were  heard  in  the  woods,  but  a  general  panic 
had  seized  the  natives  and  all  had  fled.  None 
appearing,  anchor  was  hoisted  on  the  21st,  and 
at  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  Alert  was 
lying  off  Easter  Island.  On  June  22,  at  Gebi 
Island,  three  natives  came  off  in  a  boat  to  the 
ship  to  say  that  nineteen  Englishmen  were  on  a 
small  island  near  by.  A  Dutch  man-of-war  had 
been  around  here  recently.  Perhaps  there  was 
some  trouble  with  the  Dutch.  Whatever  the 
causes  of  the  alleged  castaway,  nothing  further 
is  said  in  Dr.  Brown's  journal  about  the  chief 
object  of  their  quest. 

The  delights  of  physical  existence  were  fairly 
ravishing  in  these  eastern  seas,  and  the  veteran 
missionary  forgot  all  cares.  At  last  they  were 
in  the  Spice  Islands,  the  ancient  magnet  which 
first  drew  the  Europeans  to  the  far  eastern  seas, 
the  Portuguese  first,  then  the  Dutch,  then  the 


288      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

English.     Now  all  the  living  nations  seem  after 
the  prize  of  Insulinde.     Will  Germany  get  it? 

They  steamed  into  the  harbor  of  Amboynia, 
on  the  island  of  Ceram,  finding  the  water  very 
deep.  This  is  the  richest  spot  on  earth  for 
cloves,  a  half  million  pounds  being  here  raised 
every  year.  The  Dutch  clergyman,  Rev.  T.  K. 
Kam,  finding  that  Dr.  Brown  was,  like  himself, 
a  genuine  domine  (not  a  dominie)  of  the  Re- 
formed Protestant  Dutch  Church,  was  delighted 
to  see  him,  and  Mr.  Van  Aart  invited  him  to 
make  his  stay  on  shore  with  him  during  the  four 
days,  or  until  the  sailing  of  the  Alert.  As  they 
were  to  coal  ship,  Domine  Brown  was  only  too 
glad  to  accept  the  hospitality.  Ceram,  with  its 
area  of  264  square  miles  and  a  population  of 
thirty  thousand  souls,  had  a  spicy  reputation, 
even  before  the  Portuguese  reached  it  in  15 12. 
It  was  captured  by  the  Dutch  in  1605,  and  the 
British  settlement  made  in  161 5  was  destroyed 
by  the  Dutch  in  1623.  Taken  by  the  British  in 
1796,  the  island  was  restored  in  1802,  retaken  by 
them  in  1810,  and  restored  again  in  1814 — a 
veritable  shuttlecock  of  war  and  diplomacy. 
Over  the  gateway  of  the  fort  Dr.  Brown  read 
the  appropriate  inscription,  ita  relinquenda  ut 
recepta.  He  visited  the  church  built  in  1780, 
copied  some  of  the  inscriptions  on  the  tombs  of 
English  officers  buried  there,  and  studied  the 
Dutch  mausoleums  under  the  carved  and  sculp- 
tured tables.     The  church  was  full  of  tombs. 


A  Voyage  In  Southern  Seas      289 

Happily,  in  the  Dutch  homeland  the  Dutch 
have  ceased  to  make  graveyards  of  edifices,  and 
in  their  newer  houses  of  worship  associate  reli- 
gion with  life,  rather  than  with  death. 

Domine  Brown  was  happy  to  find  in  Domine 
Kam  a  lover  of  music.  The  Netherlander 
played  on  his  organ  fantasies  and  national  airs, 
which  the  American,  in  his  journal,  pronounced 
very  fine.  The  Dutch  domine,  born  on  the 
island  in  1833,  was  the  son  of  "  the  apostle  of 
Amboyna "  and  had  been  here  several  years. 
The  official  resident  was  named  Van  Deijnse. 
Dr.  Brown  called  on  this  dignitary  with  the 
consul  or  governor  and  the  port  captain. 
After  a  delightful  stay.  Dr.  Brown  left  in  the 
Alert,  July  3. 

The  Alert  anchored  at  Ternate,  July  5,  steam- 
ing out  at  sunset,  bound  for  the  Sulu  group, 
which  Dr.  Brown  declared  the  most  beautiful 
yet  seen  on  the  cruise.  They  were  leaving  the 
Dutch  for  the  Spanish  East  Indies,  little  realiz- 
ing that  the  Philippines  would  in  a  few  years 
be  American  possessions.  Reaching  Jolo  on 
the  9th,  they  found  three  Spanish  gunboats 
there,  and  on  the  nth  cast  anchor  at  Iloilo  on 
the  island  of  Panay. 

The  next  day  Captain  Barker  and  Dr.  Brown 
went  ashore  to  return  the  call  of  the  United 
States  consular  agent,  Mr.  J.  C.  Tyler,  Jr.,  of 
Boston,  who  with  his  brothers  was  engaged  in 
the  sugar  trade.     These  exiles  from  home  were 


290     A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

very  glad  to  meet  their  fellow-American  at 
tiffin,  or  noon  meal,  at  Mr.  Austin's.  After 
this  they  drove  out  into  the  country,  visiting 
three  large  villages.  Each  had  a  cathedral,  be- 
dizened with  very  tawdry  ornaments  on  the  altar, 
but  imposing  in  the  eyes  of  the  natives,  whose 
houses  were  very  lightly  built.  The  Chinese 
element,  chiefly  industrial,  was  large  in  the 
island.  After  seeing  the  extensive  sugar  planta- 
tions, they  called  with  the  United  States  consul 
on  the  governor  of  the  province  and  captain  of 
the  port.  The  former  had  been  nineteen  years 
in  the  Philippines,  and  was  ranked  as  lieutenant 
colonel  in  the  Spanish  army.  The  captain  of 
the  port  belonged  to  the  navy,  with  the  rank  of 
a  commodore  in  the  United  States  Navy.  The 
latter  was  somewhat  of  a  martinet.  He  had 
recently  fined  the  captains  of  foreign  vessels  in 
the  port  because  they  had  hauled  down  their 
flags  on  account  of  the  wind  or  rain,  and  then 
did  not  put  them  up  the  next  day,  it  being  a 
Roman  Catholic  feast  day.  Subsequently  he  re- 
considered his  action  and  remitted  the  fine.  Un- 
fortunately for  his  consistency,  on  the  day  of 
the  Alert's  arrival,  although  it  was  a  feast  day, 
there  was  no  flag  to  be  seen  on  the  fort.  A 
messenger  from  the  port  captain  visited  the 
Alert  and  was  very  inquisitive  in  asking  the 
exact  number  of  guns,  men,  muskets  and  pistols, 
the  quantity  of  powder  on  board,  etc.  Did  the 
coming  event  of  May  i,  1898,  cast  its  shadow 


A  Voyage  in  Southern  Seas      291 

before?  On  Mindanao  Island  Dr.  Brown  no- 
ticed that  the  Augustinian  friars  had  the  best 
land  of  that  province  for  themselves. 

On  the  later  track  of  Dewey  the  Alert  steamed 
from  Spanish  into  British  Asia.  Happy  was  Dr. 
Brown  to  look  upon  the  scenes  of  forty  years 
before. 

At  Hong  Kong  the  worn-out  educator  and 
missionary  was  fairly  **  carried  to  Paradise  on 
the  stairways  of  surprise,"  by  an  unexpected 
demonstration  of  "  the  gratitude  of  Orientals." 
In  its  prodigal  generosity  it  was  beyond  his 
wildest  dreams.  When  the  Alert  arrived  at  Vic- 
toria, several  of  his  former  Chinese  pupils  in  the 
early  forties,  but  now  from  forty-five  to  fifty- 
three  years  old,  hearing  of  Dr.  Brown's  feeble 
health,  boarded  the  Alert  and  brought  him 
ashore.  Most  of  these  men  were  in  the  govern- 
ment service.  Led  by  Dr.  Wong,  they  fitted  up 
a  house  for  his  temporary  occupation  at  Canton, 
and  provided  him  with  every  comfort  and  deli- 
cacy that  an  invalid  could  desire,  while  he  made 
excursions  and  enjoyed  sight-seeing. 

At  Hong  Kong  Dr.  Brown  visited  the  site  of 
his  former  home  and  found  on  Morrison  Hill  a 
tree  he  had  planted  thirty-four  years  before.  Its 
trunk  was  five  feet  in  diameter.  Other  trees, 
like  this  one  on  the  site  of  his  old  home,  served 
as  marks  of  his  own  age.  At  Macao  he  found 
his  old  house  in  ruins  but  he  brought  away  a 
tile  as  a  memento. 


292      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

On  his  way  to  Shanghai  a  northeaster  drove 
the  steamer  into  Amoy,  where  Dr.  Brown  met 
four  more  of  his  former  pupils,  who  were  in  the 
Customhouse  service.  They  gave  their  old 
teacher  a  complimentary  dinner  and  proposed 
for  him  a  pleasure  trip  to  Chifu,  Tientsin,  and 
Peking — the  whole  of  which,  by  steamer,  boat, 
and  sedan  chair,  at  his  pupils'  expense,  was  hap- 
pily accomplished.  In  the  Chinese  capital  Dr. 
Brown  stayed  eight  days  with  Dr.  W.  A.  P.  Mar- 
tin, the  American  missionary  and  trainer  of  Chi- 
nese statesmen  in  the  new  China.  At  Shanghai 
he  found  four  more  of  his  pupils.  They  pre- 
sented him  with  a  tablet  of  solid  silver  inscribed 
with  the  most  grateful  sentiments.  Everything 
in  China — lodging,  steamer  passage,  and  gifts 
amounting  in  value  to  five  hundred  dollars  in 
gold — was  provided  by  his  grateful  pupils. 
Thus  they  tried  to  show  him  that  "  all  they  had 
and  were  they  owed  to  his  early  teaching  and  in- 
fluence." 

The  silver  tablet  expressive  of  the  gratitude 
of  Dr.  Brown's  pupils  to  their  beloved  teacher 
is  a  characteristic  specimen  of  Chinese  art,  as 
rich  in  suggestive  symbolism  as  it  is  beautiful 
to  the  eye.  It  has  been,  therefore,  chosen  as 
a  cover-stamp  for  this  volume. 

The  thick  slab  of  white  precious  metal  is  set 
in  a  frame  of  very  dark  carved  teak  wood. 
Four  of  the  elect  "  old-seal "  characters  ex- 
press, in  the  terse  and  fecund  phrase  for  which 


A  Voyage  in  Southern  Seas       293 

Chinese  is  famous,  both  a  sentiment  and  a 
history.  Literature  above  becomes  art  below, 
and  the  feeHngs  of  grateful  pupils  are  expressed 
in  a  symbolism  that  appeals  at  once  to  Chinese, 
and  with  right  interpretation,  to  cosmopolitan 
taste. 

Freely  translated  by  a  native  scholar,  the  in- 
scription reads: 

As  the  bountiful  showers  of 
Spring  induce  rich  vegetation, 
So  what  is  good  in  your  pupils 
Is  due  to  your  early  instructions. 

On  the  right  of  the  four  large  characters  is 
the  name  of  Dr.  Brown,  and  on  the  left,  in 
Chinese  modern  script,  are  the  names  of  the  four 
donors. 

Just  above  the  large  inscription  are  the 
dragons — symbols  of  intensest  vital  energy — 
contending  for  the  flaming  jewel.  Whether  as 
the  moon  governing  tides  and  commerce  and 
thus  productive  of  wealth,  or  as  the  symbol  of 
the  soul  and  of  mystery,  the  "  sacred  pearl  " 
represents  the  prizes  of  life.  The  same  idea,  as 
of  things  most  precious  but  attainable  only 
by  strenuous  exertion,  is  wrought  out  in  the 
carved  teak-wood  setting. 

The  artistic  expression  of  the  motto  is  carried 
out  in  the  chasing  and  carving  of  the  silver 
below.  On  lofty  hills  and  among  the  clouds 
sages  and  lovers  of  books  are  walking,  serenely. 


294      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

One  of  them  is  pouring  out  a  broad  stream  of 
water,  in  the  ever-widening  waves  of  which 
various  beings,  seated  on  mighty  creatures  of 
the  deep,  are  borne  along,  apparently  in  stren- 
uous rivalry.  All  this  symbolizes  the  broad 
river  of  prosperity  and  success  in  life  flowing 
forth  from  wisdom,  imparted  long  ago  and 
maintained  by  diligence  and  vigilant  endeavor. 

The  reverse  of  the  tablet  shows,  in  the  em- 
blems of  peace  and  calm,  the  quiet,  as  com- 
pared with  the  strenuous  life.  The  phenixes 
in  happy  union,  the  full-blown  peonies,  the 
well-rooted,  graceful  bamboo  suggest  happy 
results  after  toilsome  endeavor. 

"  Unto  him  that  hath  shall  be  given."  Long 
before  this  silver  token  and  the  manifest  proofs 
of  1877,  he  had  beUeved  in  Chinese  gratitude. 
He  was  now  confirmed  in  his  faith. 

The  return  to  Japan  was  made  without  inci- 
dent, but  with  manifest  gain  to  the  domine's 
health.  Although  no  castaways  were  found,  it 
is  comforting  to  know  that  to  civilization  noth- 
ing is  foreign.  Wherever  the  British  or  Ameri- 
can flag  floats,  there  will  the  lost  be  sought  and 
found.  Japan,  no  longer  a  morose  hermit,  is 
now  in  the  brotherhood  of  nations,  and  her  ships 
also  steam  or  sail  in  every  sea,  for  rescue,  as  well 
as  for  trade  and  defense. 


Thrusting  in  the  Sickel 


XXIII 
Thrusting  in  the  Sickle 

4  T  last,  in  1878,  the  theological  seminary  in 
ZA  Dr.  Brown's  own  house  moved  to 
1  VTokio,  and  with  other  schools  and  stu- 
dents, the  latter  as  many  as  the  letters  of  the 
alphabet,  and  under  the  council  of  three  united 
missions,  became  the  Meiji  Gaku-in,  or  Hall  of 
Learning  of  the  Era  of  Meiji.  One-half  of  the 
whole  number  of  the  young  men,  and  these  the 
most  advanced,  came  from  the  school  in  Dr. 
Brown's  house,  which,  since  Dr.  Brown  had 
come  under  the  Bible  Society  in  part  for  support, 
was  under  the  care  of  the  two  y^oung  ladies.  Miss 
Hattie  Brown  and  her  cousin  Miss  Winn,  Dr. 
Brown  continuing  his  instruction  in  Greek. 
While  he  was  absent  on  the  voyage  to  the  Malay 
Archipelago,  these  thirteen  students  were  wholly 
under  the  young  ladies'  care.  They  passed  a 
wonderful  examination  in  English,  history,  geol- 
ogy, algebra,  and  geometry.  "  I  have  taught 
more  than  forty-five  years,"  wrote  the  doctor, 
"  and  I  assure  you  I  never  saw  students  do 
themselves  more  credit  than  these  Japanese  did, 
and  all  in  a  foreign  tongue." 

At  the  end  of  1902,  twenty-four  years  after 

297 


298      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

this  declaration,  it  is  very  clear  that  there  is  no 
partiality  or  exaggeration  in  his  judgment,  fot 
Dr.  Brown's  pupils  are  still  among  the  most 
scholarly  pastors  in  Japan.  They  have  stood 
firm  amid  every  wind  and  wave  of  doctrine,  re- 
sisted the  corrosion  of  "  nationalism,"  and,  amid 
the  withering  influence  of  fads  of  all  sorts,  are 
standing  fast  in  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ 
made  them  free.  They  have  illustrated  the  truth 
that  the  passion  for  righteousness  will  take  pos- 
session of  the  Christian  teacher's  pupils  in  pro- 
portion as  his  own  scholarship  is  genuine  and 
deep. 

Happily  all  the  Christians  of  the  Reformed 
churches  holding  the  Presbyterial  form  of  gov- 
ernment, of  every  name  and  from  every  country, 
both  native  and  foreign,  had  October  i,  1872, 
formed  the  United  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  in 
Japan,  and  with  fourteen  native  churches  in  the 
Chiu-kwai  (Classis  or  Presbytery),  were  working 
with  zeal  and  harmony.  There  came  a  call  for 
a  preacher  to  go  to  Annaka,  Neesima's  birth- 
place, sixty-five  miles  from  Tokio.  The  transla- 
tion committee  was  at  i  Corinthians,  chapter 
15,  and  hoped  in  a  year  to  complete  the  New 
Testament.  Dr.  Brown  foresaw  that  the  new 
theological  school  must  soon  run  out,  unless 
preparatory  schools  were  formed  as  feeders. 
"  Dry  up  the  stream  and  the  mill  must  stop.'* 

Dr.  Brown  was  one  of  the  happy  men  who  did 
not  die  "  before  the  sight "  of  the  white  harvest. 


Thrusting  in  the  Sickle  299 

Indeed  he  saw  some  of  "  the  full  corn  in  the 
ear,"  on  the  3d  of  April,  1878,  at  the  second 
semi-annual  meeting  of  the  Classis,  or  Presby- 
tery, in  Tokio.  It  was  held  in  the  church  of 
which  Rev.  David  Thompson  was  pastor.  There 
twelve  elders  answered  to  the  roll,  besides  three 
Japanese  acting  pastors,  sixteen  missionaries, 
and  four  evangelists,  or  thirty-two  in  all.  Dr. 
Brown  was  elected  president  of  this  meeting. 
The  proceedings  were  in  Japanese,  but  as  de- 
liberative assemblages  were  a  novelty  in  Japan, 
the  terms  for  parliamentary  forms  and  usages 
had  not  as  yet  been  definitely  settled.  Never- 
theless here  began  that  familiarity  with  the  pro- 
ceedings of  serious  deliberative  bodies  which 
has  given  the  Christians  of  Japan  such  dispro- 
portionately large  membership  and  influence  in 
the  local  assemblies  and  in  the  Imperial  Diet. 
The  American  missionaries  have  been  one  of  the 
most  potent  of  forces  in  Japan  in  steadily  build- 
ing up  representative  institutions,  and  in  educa- 
ting the  nation  to  constitutional  government. 

No  fewer  than  thirteen  young  men  appeared 
to  be  examined  and  licensed  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel. Six  of  these  had  been  pupils  in  the  mission 
school  held  in  Dr.  Brown's  house  in  Yokohama. 
The  examination  occupied  nearly  the  whole  day, 
before  a  large  audience  of  Japanese  deeply  inter- 
ested in  listening  to  questions  and  answers.  "To 
the  missionaries,"  wrote  Dr.  Brown,  "  it  was  a 
scene  such  as  had  never  been  witnessed  before 


300      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

in  this  country,  and  it  elicited  whispered  expres- 
sions of  admiration  and  gratitude.  .  .  What  a 
contrast  to  the  condition  of  things  in  Yedo  nine- 
teen years  before,  when  it  was  unsafe  to  walk  in 
the  streets  of  the  city  even  by  daylight  without 
an  armed  guard,  when  it  was  a  capital  crime  not 
only  to  be  a  Christian,  but  even  to  harbor  one, 
and  when  words  peculiar  to  the  vocabulary  of 
Christians  were  banned  under  severe  penalties." 
Then  there  was  not  one  Protestant  believer  or 
preacher  in  the  country.  Now  with  the  gospel 
free,  churches  in  operation,  and  thirteen  well- 
educated  young  men  publicly  offering  them- 
selves to  be  preachers  of  the  good  news  of  God, 
how  could  the  veteran  toiler  properly  express  his 
emotions? 

He  wrote: 

"  Words  can  poorly  describe  the  wonder  and 
gratitude  which  filled  my  soul  as  I  looked  upon 
this  scene,  for  God  had  in  his  mercy  permitted 
me  to  be  an  observer  of  the  great  changes  which 
his  hand  has  wrought  here  from  the  beginning 
until  now."  Of  thirteen  churches,  with  a  total 
roll  of  807  members,  the  mother  church  in 
Yokohama  had  the  largest,  186,  and  that  at  Na- 
gasaki the  smallest  number,  13.  The  money 
raised  for  religious  purposes  in  one  year  was 
$490.  There  had  been  145  baptisms  since  Octo- 
ber I,  1887.  Dr.  Brown  noticed  that  there  were 
two  or  there  singing  meetings,  which  promised 
much    for   the   future.      The   gatherings    lasted 


Thrusting  in  the  Sickle  301 

three  days  and  a  half,  and  at  the  public  meetings 
native  brethren  made  addresses.  A  committee 
on  praise  was  appointed  to  prepare  a  selection  of 
hymns  and  chants  for  the  use  of  the  churches. 
A  memorial  from  Rev.  Henry  Stout  at  Nagasaki 
was  read,  calling  on  the  Japanese  to  carry  the 
gospel  to  Korea.  Dr.  Brown  heartily  seconded 
the  idea.  "  The  Japanese  Church  must  be  a 
missionary  church  for  its  own  sake,  as  well  as 
for  the  salvation  "  of  the  Koreans.  A  Japanese 
merchant  from  Korea  told  of  the  state  of  affairs 
in  the  peninsula  and  said  that  if  he  could  "  go 
there  again,  he  would  gladly  shoulder  a  tem- 
bimho  [a  carrying  pole  used  by  coolies  or  ped- 
dlers] and  push  his  way  into  the  Korean  vil- 
lages" to  tell  the  people  of  Christ. 

The  lovely  month  of  June,  1879,  found  Dr. 
Brown  in  Tokio,  the  capital,  for  quiet  and  retire- 
ment with  Professor  William  A.  Houghton  and 
his  wife  of  New  Haven.  They  were  very  kind 
to  him.  *'  As  attentive  to  me,"  he  wrote,  *'  as 
if  I  had  been  their  father.  A  Dutch  doctor  at- 
tends my  case  and  Dr.  Simmons  has  me  in  hand 
in  Yokohama."  The  trouble  was  a  painful  one 
of  the  bladder,  and  unfitted  the  translator  for 
work.  He  had  been  unable  to  be  at  church 
since  the  2d  of  last  February,  because  unable 
to  sit  still  through  a  service.  "  It  is  an  old 
man's  disease,  and  therefore  the  more  difficult 
to  cure.  On  the  i6th  of  this  month  I  shall  have 
completed  my  sixtieth  year.  .  .  Now  I  feel  that 


302       A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

unless  I  have  recourse  from  entire  rest  and 
change  of  cHmate  and  scene,  there  is  little  or  no 
hope  of  renewing  my  health." 

What  should  he  do?  Respond  to  the  call  of 
his  classmates  and  be  home  for  the  forty-eighth 
anniversary  of  graduation  from  Yale  College, 
with  a  nearly  completed  translation  of  the  New 
Testament?  Only  the  last  two  chapters  of 
Revelation  remained  to  be  done  into  Japanese. 

What  noble,  what  conquering  patience! 
Contrast  the  spirit  and  method  of  Dr.  Brown 
with  that  of  the  uncultured  missionary  con- 
sumed with  earth-born  zeal,  which  he  mistakes 
for  heavenly  inspiration,  and  who  refuses  the 
hard  work  necessary  to  learn  the  language  or 
literature  of  the  people  he  expects  to  convert. 
For  thirteen  years  Robbins  Brown  toiled  as  in  a 
mine  unseen,  while  all  the  time  his  spiritual 
vision  became  clearer,  his  ideals  deepened  and 
clarified,  until  there  was  a  native  church.  For 
twenty  years  he  wrought  to  master  the  lan- 
guage, until  the  New  Testament  was  done  into 
Japanese.  Now,  with  native  preachers  of  the 
good  news  of  God,  ready  to  distribute  to  their 
countrymen  the  heavenly  treasure  of  truth,  he 
saw  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  and  was  satisfied, 
ascribing  all  glory  to  God. 

On  June  26,  1879,  two  surgeons  examined  the 
worn-out  soldier  of  Christ  and  pointed  out  the 
cause  of  his  distress,  deciding  that  perfect  rest 
and  change  of  scene  were  needed,  and  perhaps 


Thrusting  in  the  Sickle  303 

specialists  in  Philadelphia  could  help  him.     He 
would  go  home  by  the  Pacific  mail  steamer. 
The  veteran's  work  in  Japan  was  done. 

In  his  last  days  before  leaving  the  country  and 
the  people  he  loved,  his  nephew,  Rev.  T.  C. 
Winn,  was  much  with  him.  As  Dr.  Brown 
talked  over  his  experiences  he  used  to  often  say, 
"  If  I  had  a  hundred  lives,  I  would  give  them  all 
for  Japan."  Such  was  his  devotion  to  the  land 
and  people  to  whom  he  had  given  his  best  days 
and  consecrated  his  ripest  powers. 


Last  Home  Coming 


XXIV 
Last  Home  Coming 

THE  story  of  the  sunny  missionary  is  now 
of  a  short  walk  on  the  westerly  slope  of 
life.  On  first  arrival  on  the  home  soil 
he  was  restless  and  unsatisfied,  until  he  had 
seen  Monson  and  knelt  at  his  mother's  grave. 
We  find  him  at  Hartford,  October  i,  1879,  and 
during  the  winter  at  Orange,  N.  J.  In  the 
spring  he  spent  a  night  at  New  Haven  with  his 
old  friend,  now  professor  of  Chinese  at  Yale,  Dr. 
S.  Wells  Williams.  In  his  haste  to  catch  a 
street  car,  he  walked  too  fast,  and  suflfered  bad 
results  next  day.  At  the  request  of  one  of  his 
old  Chinese  pupils  in  Shanghai  he  went  to  Clin- 
ton, Conn.,  to  see  his  son,  to  give  him  some  help- 
ful advice.  While  at  the  station,  talking  to  the 
lad,  he  fell  unconscious.  He  had  to  spend  Sun- 
day at  Clinton,  but  recovered  and  came  on  to 
Albany.  Here  he  wrote  June  i,  1880,  that  he 
had  taken  a  house  here  for  two  years  from  the 
1st  of  May,  and  had  furnished  it.  His  health 
was  feeble  and  it  was  hard  to  improve  it.  He 
was  unable  to  supply  pulpits  or  do  any  work 
requiring  physical  activity.  "  I  am  shelved  at 
present,  perhaps  permanently,  but  the  Lord  will 

307 


3o8       A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

provide,  I  doubt  not,  as  he  has  done  hitherto  for 
me  and  mine." 

During  January  and  February,  1880,  the 
teacher  in  three  empires  visited  Washington, 
D.  C,  as  the  guest  of  his  friend  Dr.  Yung  Wing, 
now  secretary  of  the  Chinese  Legation. 

What  a  wonderful  change  had  come  over  the 
old  Middle  Kingdom!  Whereas  China  for- 
merly knew  or  cared  neither  for  her  own  subjects 
beyond  her  frontier,  nor  for  foreign  nations,  she 
now  guarded  her  own  people's  rights,  had  lega- 
tions and  consulates,  and  no  fewer  than  120 
Chinese  lads  were  receiving  education  in  the 
United  States.  It  seemed  astounding  that  the 
Peking  government  should  do  so  liberal  a  thing 
as  to  appropriate  $1,500,000,  erect  a  $50,000 
house  in  Hartford,  and  at  an  expense  of  $100,000 
a  year  send  six  score  Chinese  youth  to  America 
to  be  educated  in  New  England,  but  it  was  so. 
It  was  Samuel  Robbins  Brown  that  first  inspired 
the  Chinese  youth  to  come  to  the  United  States 
to  receive  an  education,  and  it  was  he  who  first 
brought  three  of  them  to  his  own  home.  In- 
deed he  did  the  same  work  in  Japan. 

It  was  Yung  Wing,  A.  M.,  LL.  D.,  graduate 
of  Yale  College,  however,  who  was  the  mediate 
influence.  He  had  been  eminent  in  his  class  in 
English  composition,  mathematics,  and  mental 
philosophy.  Under  the  elms  of  New  Haven  he 
was  tempted  to  stay  in  the  United  States,  and 
win  money  and  position,  but  conscience  and  the 


Last  Home  Coming  309 

Word  of  God  spoke  to  him  in  this  wise:  "If 
any  man  provide  not  for  the  things  of  his  own, 
he  hath  denied  the  faith."  Forthwith  he  re- 
turned to  China.  It  was  uphill  work  attempt- 
ing reform.  He  tried  many  positions,  British, 
American,  and  Chinese,  but  left  them  when  he 
found  he  could  not  advance  his  purpose  of  get- 
ting Chinese  young  men  educated  abroad.  He 
went  into  business  and  amassed  wealth.  Finally 
summoned  before  a  viceroy,  he  pleased  that 
statesman  by  making  the  astonishing  statement 
that  he  could  not  be  a  general,  nor  could  he  take 
the  position  or  salary  belonging  to  a  military 
officer.  He  was  sent  to  Europe  to  buy  arms 
and  machinery,  and  did  his  work  well.  Re- 
turning to  China  he  pressed  his  suit  and  won 
over  to  his  point  of  view  two  mandarins  in  high 
office,  and  despite  delays,  through  a  period  of 
mourning  and  the  Tientsin  massacre,  succeeded. 
In  August,  1871,  the  appropriation  of  five  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars  was  made. 

Shortly  after  this,  at  Yokohama,  I  met  Yung 
Wing  and  accompanied  him  to  the  deck  of  the 
steamer.  We  chatted  for  an  hour  over  educa- 
tion in  Japan  and  China  and  the  prospects  of  the 
new  Orient.  He  was  as  happy  as  a  boy,  and 
radiant  with  hope  for  his  country.  He  used 
English  with  a  grace  and  fluency  that  might  be 
expected  of  a  prize-winner  at  Yale.  Afterwards, 
in  1875,  I  saw  some  of  the  Chinese  lads  at  their 
studies.     They  spent  two  months  of  the  year  at 


3IO      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

Hartford,  keeping  up  under  severe  and  strict 
Chinese  teachers  their  own  vernacular,  penman- 
ship, and  book  language. 

Although  reactionary  influences  in  Peking  pre- 
vailed and  the  Chinese  lads  were  recalled,  yet 
many  of  them  gave  a  good  account  of  themselves 
and  have  made  good  records.  One  is  the  new 
Chinese  ambassador  in  Washington  appointed 
in  July,  1902. 

Yung  Wing  afterwards  fell  into  disfavor  with 
the  Peking  mandarins,  but  during  the  war  with 
Japan  was  sent  to  Europe  on  an  important  mis- 
sion. Again,  in  1901,  the  reactionaries  who  hate 
all  progress  made  trouble  for  him,  but  he  es- 
caped their  clutches,  and  in  1902  came  back  to 
his  home  in  Hartford. 

Nevertheless,  as  precedents  rule  the  day  in 
China,  the  seed-idea  of  educating  native  youth 
abroad  has  fallen  into  hopeful  ground  and  fruit 
has  ripened.  There  are  now  in  1902  over  one 
thousand  Chinese  students  in  Japan,  Europe, 
and  America. 

While  in  Washington,  Dr.  Brown  had  his 
photograph  taken.  It  represents  him  as  a  sunny 
white-haired  old  man,  benignant  and  kind,  his 
whole  mien  suggesting  readiness  to  listen  in 
order  to  help.  One  of  his  nieces,  writing  in 
1901,  says,  *'  I  have  never  seen  so  beautiful  an 
old  age,  so  perfect  a  ripening  of  character.  In 
him  we  could  all  see  that 

'* '  Last  of  life  for  which  the  first  was  made,* 


Last  Home  Coming  311 

as  Browning  puts  it,  in  his  *  Rabbi  Ben  Ezra/ 
To  be  with  him  during  his  last  days  was  to  stand 
in  the  glow  of  a  light  from  the  very  throne  of 
God.'' 

An  Albany  newspaper  reporter,  who  inter- 
viewed Dr.  Brown  as  to  Chinese  gratitude,  said 
of  the  old  pioneer: 

**  His  is  one  of  the  most  intellectual  faces  it 
is  possible  to  meet  with,  and  his  snow-white  hair 
gives  him  a  venerable  appearance  that  is  pleas- 
ant to  look  upon,  while  his  clear,  mild  voice 
is  one  that  the  listener  would  never  weary  in 
hearing." 

With  what  a  rush  of  memories  and  upwelling 
of  deepest  gratitude  to  God  did  the  veteran 
translator  receive  on  May  11,  a  letter  from 
Japan  announcing  that  "A  meeting,  to  com- 
memorate the  completion  of  the  translation  of 
the  New  Testament  into  the  Japanese  language, 
will  be  held  in  the  Rev.  D.  Thompson's  church 
Shin  Sakaye  Bashi,  Tokio,  on  Monday  next, 
April  19,  at  3.30  p.  m.  Rev.  Dr.  Verbeck  will 
preside  and  addresses  will  be  delivered  by  the 
chairman.  Dr.  Hepburn,  and  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Okano."  A  few  days  later,  from  the  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions  of  the  Reformed  Church,  came 
to  him  a  letter  couched  in  glowing  language, 
congratulating  him  on  the  completion  of  the 
New  Testament  in  Japanese. 

One  able  to  judge  by  many  years  of  life  among 
the  Japanese,  using  also  their  language  in  public 


312       A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

discourse,  declared  that  Dr.  Brown's  fine  taste 
and  discriminating  judgment  were  of  great  serv- 
ice in  securing  so  flowing  and  almost  faultless  a 
rendering  of  the  words  of  Holy  Scripture  in 
the  musical  and  rhythmical  language  of  the 
Japanese. 


Falling  on  Sleep 


XXV 
Falling  on  Sleep 

THE  days  of  the  years  of  the  life  of  the 
sunny  missionary,  as  numbered  by  the 
Father,  were  neither  "  few  nor  evil," 
yet  were  not  to  be  three  score  years  and  ten.  It 
was  a  few  days  short  of  seventy  years  when,  his 
earthly  voyage  ended,  he  was  to  drift  into  the 
harbor.  After  twice  encompassing  the  globe, 
he  found  euthanasia  near  his  boyhood's  home 
and  the  resting  place  of  his  mother  and  father. 

Starting  with  his  wife  from  Albany,  in  the 
month  of  June,  1880,  in  order  to  be  present  at  the 
reunion  of  his  Yale  class,  of  1832,  at  New  Haven, 
he  spent  a  week  as  the  guest  of  his  old  friend  Dr. 
Henry  M.  Field,  at  Stockbridge,  Mass.,  for  one 
week,  and  arrived  at  Monson  on  Friday,  June 
18,  spending  the  night  at  the  home  of  his  old 
friend  Mrs.  Hadassah  Thomipson  Dewey,  who 
had  been  from  childhood  a  close  friend  of  the 
Browns.  Her  husband,  the  Rev.  Amasa  Dewey, 
then  deceased,  and  Dr.  Brown  had  been  class- 
mates at  Monson  Academy  and  roommates  at 
Yale  College.  On  Saturday  morning,  driving 
with  his  wife  around  the  town,  he  found  none  of 
his  relatives  living  in  Monson,  the  late  Rev.  Dr. 
Alfred  Ely  and  all  the  family  having  died  or 

315 


3i6      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

moved  away.  Again  he  visited  his  parents' 
sleeping  place  in  the  cemetery — ^the  most  hal- 
lowed spot  on  earth  to  him. 

That  evening  having  retired  to  bed,  "  He 
entered  into  rest  without  a  struggle,  with  only  a 
slight  change  in  his  breathing,  barely  sufficient 
to  awaken  his  wife,  soon  after  midnight.  The 
notice  of  death  occupied  only  four  or  five  lines 
in  the  daily  papers,  yet  two  empires  had  lost  one 
of  their  chief  benefactors." 

The  brother  had  yielded  to  "  the  sister's  call." 
Years  before,  on  the  death  of  his  beloved  sister. 
Dr.  Brown  had  given  utterance  to  the  haunting 
feelings  that  possessed  him,  and  setting  his  own 
verses  to  his  own  music,  sang  with  a  pathos  never 
to  be  forgotten,  the  poem  which  we  here  trans- 

THE   SISTER'S   CALL. 

"  A  voice  from  the  spirit  land, 
A  voice  from  the  silent  tomb, 
Entreats  with  a  sweet  command, 

•  Brother,  come  home! ' 
List,  list!    'Tis  a  sister  gone; 
Unseen,  yet  where'er  I  roam, 
She  calls  from  her  starlit  throne, 

'  Brother,  come  home!  * 

'•  At  eve,  when  the  crimson  west 
Is  dyed  by  the  setting  sun, 
She  calls  like  a  spirit  blest, 

•  Brother,  come  home! ' 
Abroad  in  the  stilly  night, 
A  stranger  and  all  alone, 

I  hear  through  the  misty  light, 

•  Brother,  come  home!  * 


O 

d 

CO 

> 
a 


Falling  on  Sleep  317 

•'  In  dreams  of  the  midnight  deep, 
When  angels  of  mercy  come, 
I  startle  to  hear  in  sleep, 

'  Brother,  come  home!' 
When  far  from  my  father's  hearth 
I  sail  o'er  the  white  sea  foam, 
I  hear  through  the  storm  wind's  mirth, 

•  Brother,  come  home ! ' 

•*  By  sorrow  and  sin  oppressed, 
She  answers  to  every  moan, 
*  Come  here  where  the  weary  rest; 

Brother,  come  home ! ' 
Ah!  loved  one,  I  haste  to  thee; 
Soon,  soon  shall  I  reach  thy  home. 
And  there  wilt  thou  welcome  me. 

I  come,  I  come." 

Mr.  E.  F.  Morris  of  Monson  recalls  the 
bright  June  day  in  1880  when  he  last  saw  Dr. 
Brown.  The  white-haired  veteran  had  arrived 
that  morning  and  was  taking  a  drive  with  his 
wife  amid  the  old  familiar  scenes.  On  the  fol- 
lowing morning,  the  Sabbath,  word  came  that 
the  sunny  missionary  had  passed  away  during 
the  night.  Having  often  expressed  a  longing 
to  rest  with  his  mother  in  his  last  sleep,  he  had 
unwittingly  come  to  his  boyhood's  home  to  die 
within  a  few  rods  of  her  grave. 

Dr.  J.  H.  Twitchell  of  Hartford  writes,  "I 
attended  his  funeral  and  walked  from  the  church 
where  the  service  was  held,  to  the  burying 
ground,  with  S.  Wells  Williams,  his  old  com- 
rade. Dr.  Williams'  strange  talk,  as  we  went 
along,  I  never  shall  forget — it  was  pitched  to  so 


31 8      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

high  a  key  of  exultation.  He  spoke  of  how  un- 
profitable a  use — in  most  men's  eyes — Dr.  Brown 
had  made  of  his  life  and  powers ;  of  what  he  had 
sacrificed,  etc.     He  exclaimed  again  and  again, 

*  He  shall  not  be  ashamed  of  it ' — glancing  side- 
wise  at  the  hearse  as  if  he  wanted  Dr.  Brown  to 
hear.  He  seemed  also  to  be  speaking  for  him- 
self. He  fell  into  further  reminiscence,  and  fling- 
ing out  his  hand  to  the  eastward  where  a  long 
range  of  hills  lies  against  the  sky,  Dr.  W.  said, 

*  And  when  the  plan  of  God  for  these  great 
Eastern  nations  is  fully  unrolled,  Robbins  Brown 
will  not  be  ashamed.'  " 

The  memory  of  the  pioneer  and  his  wife  is 
still  as  green  as  the  grass  after  a  rain  at  Owasco 
Outlet.  Besides  the  year  1868,  which  Dr.  Brown 
spent  there,  it  was  hoped  that  when  the  twenty- 
fifth  anniversary  of  the  dedication  of  the  new 
building  was  to  be  enjoyed,  on  the  27th  of  July, 
1880,  Dr.  Brown  would  be  present.  Yet,  though 
the  anniversary  came,  it  was  turned  into  a  me- 
morial service,  for  he  who  had  been  twice  pastor 
was  a  guest  in  the  House  of  Eternity. 

Concerning  his  chief  work,  the  translation  of 
the  New  Testament  into  the  Japanese,  Dr.  Henry 
Stout  writes  in  1901 :  "If  the  length  of  time 
during  which  this  first  translation  has  been  the 
accepted  standard  version  by  all  classes  in 
Japan — sorme  portions  for  nearly  thirty  years  and 
the  whole  book  over  twenty — be  a  test  of  excel- 
lence, then  that  translation  must  have  been  the 


Falling  on  Sleep  319 

product  of  careful,  conscientious  scholarship.  As 
the  work  went  on  his  health  failed.  He  prayed 
that  he  might  live  to  see  it  completed,  and  to  ac- 
complish this  seemed  to  be  the  first  ambition  of 
his  last  days.  He  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
the  New  Testament  complete  in  print. 

In  a  very  happy  event  occurring  on  the  Perry 
treaty  ground  at  Yokohama  March  11,  1881,  the 
name  and  memory  of  Dr.  Brown  were  recalled. 
The  King  of  Hawaii  was  welcomed  in  the  Japa- 
nese Christian  Church  at  Yokohama,  to  express 
their  thanks  to  the  Christians  of  Hawaii  for  the 
gift  of  one  thousand  dollars  to  build  the  first 
native  chapel  in  Japan.  His  Majesty  was  met  at 
the  station  by  Dr.  T.  W.  Gulick,  and  in  the 
church  the  words,  Aloha,  the  Christian  saluta- 
tion meaning,  "  love  be  to  thee,"  thrilled  the 
members  of  the  royal  party.  It  was  the  ninth 
anniversary  of  the  organization  of  the  First 
Christian  Church  in  Japan.  The  church  edifice, 
dedicated  to  the  worship  of  God  July  10,  1875, 
on  Lot  167,  had  stood  six  years.  The  Rev. 
Okuno  Masatsuna,  the  poet  and  hymn-writer, 
made  an  address  which  was  rendered  into  English 
by  the  Rev.  Ibuka  Kachinoske,  one  of  the  five 
pupils  of  Dr.  Brown  who  became  presidents  of 
Christian  colleges  in  Japan.  Mr.  Ibuka  ren- 
dered also  his  Majesty's  address  in  English 
into  Japanese  for  the  benefit  of  the  native 
Christians. 

The  Hon.  Shimada  Saburo,  editor,  historian. 


320      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

critic,  and  reformer,  writing  from  Tokio  June  30, 
1901,  of  the  sending  of  Perry  to  wake  up  the 
Japanese  nation  from  its  long  sleep,  and  of  the 
arrival  later  of  missionaries  to  open  the  spiritual 
eyes  of  his  people,  declares  that  the  antipathy 
and  skepticism  which  the  Japanese  had  against 
the  political  policies  of  the  foreign  Powers  was 
removed  "  by  the  humane  and  warm  sympathies 
of  these  missionaries  toward  the  hermit  nation." 
He  shows  that  it  took  many  years  to  make  the 
Japanese  see  that  "  the  religion  of  Jesus  is  not 
so  wicked  as  they  fancied  before."  When,  in 
1873,  he  came  to  Yokohama  to  study  English, 
Dr.  Brown  said  to  him,  "  If  you  want  to  study 
English  for  the  purpose  of  becoming  the  pastor 
of  a  church,  you  need  not  pay  any  tuition ;  but  if 
simply  to  study  English  you  should  pay  for  it." 
Mr.  Saburo  was  deeply  impressed  with  Brown's 
kindness  and  noble-heartedness,  and  is  deeply 
grateful  for  what  he  received  from  him. 

Another  student  tells  how  he  and  his  fellow 
supported  students  declined  at  a  certain  period 
to  receive  any  further  assistance  and  determined 
on  self-support.  Dr.  Brown  at  first  thought 
this  proposal  sprung  from  their  inexperience  and 
thoughtlessness.  "  Yet,  after  knowing  our  hearts 
more  fully  in  the  matter,  he  granted  our  request. 
His  pure  and  noble  character  had  an  unspeakable 
influence  over  us." 

Dr.  Brown  thought  no  people  were  as  grateful 
as  the  Chinese,  and  often  spoke  of  the  Japanese 


Falling  on  Sleep  321 

as  those  who  knew  and  practiced  the  virtue  of 
grateful  appreciation. 

One  who  has  long  been  among  the  Japanese 
writes : 

"  Foreigners  in  the  East  sometimes  speak  of 
the  *  natives '  as  *  ungrateful,'  but  expressions 
used  long  after  his  death  by  Japanese  who  had 
been  Dr.  Brown's  pupils  taught  me  differently. 
They  felt  they  had  received  real  benefit  from  him, 
and  his  memory  was  precious  to  them.  No 
teacher  can  ask  a  higher  reward,  and  this  was 
Dr.  Brown's  in  no  stinted  measure.  His  spirit 
and  his  scholarly  ideals  are  incarnate  in  some 
of  the  Japanese  who  have  been  most  successful 
in  the  establishment  of  the  Church,  men  who  are 
still  leaders  of  their  countrymen." 

During  the  great  revival  of  1902  the  name  of 
Samuel  Robbins  Brown  was  often  mentioned  in 
Japan.  For  the  time  being,  during  this  Taikyo 
Dendo  Undo,  or  Great  United  Evangelistic 
Movement,  sectional  lines  were  obliterated,  and 
tens  of  thousands  of  Japanese  made  earnest  in- 
quiry concerning  Christ  and  his  religion.  One 
of  the  happiest  omens  for  the  future  unity  of 
Christ's  Church  in  Japan  has  been  the  blessing 
bestowed  upon  this  great  undenominational  and 
truly  union  effort  of  evangelism. 

One  of  Dr.  Brown's  most  faithful  comrades, 
writing  in  the  perspective  of  long  years  in  1902, 
declared  that  three  striking  characteristics  of  Dr. 
Brown's  were,  first,  his  tenderness  of  heart  at 


32  2      A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient 

mention  of  the  Saviour's  name,  often  bringing 
tears  to  his  eyes ;  second,  his  real  missionary  zeal 
— it  was  enthusiasm;  third,  his  ardent  beUef  in 
the  imminence  of  our  Lord's  second  coming.  It: 
the  old  hymn  book  so  long  used  by  mother  and 
son,  the  three  places  most  used  are  those  of  hymns 
in  adoration  of  the  Trinity,  praise  in  Christ,  and 
hymns  of  the  resurrection.  His  favorite  was  "  It 
is  not  death  to  die." 

Dr.  Brown's  soul  was  not  "  like  a  star  and 
dwelt  apart."  His  was  rather  like  abundant 
sunshine  that  made  things  grow.  He  raised  up 
disciples.  He  was  not  an  Elijah,  but  an  Elisha. 
"  Nothing,"  says  Bishop  Brooke  Foss  Westcott, 
*'  perhaps  is  more  remarkable  in  religious  history 
than  the  strange  inability  of  the  greatest  teacher 
who  works  through  his  own  individuality  alone 
to  produce  in  others,  however  devoted  to  him, 
the  image  of  his  own  life."  The  bishop's  words 
have  been  illustrated  in  the  missionary  history  of 
Japan,  but  not  in  the  career  of  Samuel  R.  Brown. 
In  this  twentieth  century  Japanese  presidents  of 
colleges,  editors,  pastors,  translators,  authors, 
statesmen,  men  of  affairs,  and  leaders  in  com- 
merce and  literature  by  the  score  are  "  images  of 
his  own  life/'  while  in  three  countries  hundreds 
acknowledged  gladly  the  inspiration  gained  under 
their  teacher. 


"  Then  in  such  hour  of  need 
Of  your  fainting,  dispirited  race, 
Ye,  like  angels,  appear, 
Radiant  with  ardor  divine! 
Beacons  of  hope,  ye  appear! 
Languor  is  not  in  your  heart, 
Weakness  is  not  in  your  word. 
Weariness  not  on  your  brow. 
Ye  alight  in  our  van !  at  your  voice. 
Panic,  despair,  flee  away, 
Ye  move  through  the  ranks,  recall 
The  stragglers,  refresh  the  outworn, 
Praise,  re-inspire  the  brave! 
Order,  courage,  return. 
Eyes  rekindling,  and  prayers. 
Follow  your  steps  as  ye  go. 
Ye  fill  up  the  gaps  in  our  files. 
Strengthen  the  wavering  line, 
Stablish,  continue  our  march, 
On,  to  the  bound  of  the  waste, 
On,  to  the  City  of  God." 

—"  Rugby  Chapel,''  Matthew  Arnold. 


Index 

Abeel,  Rev.  David,  64,  70 

Adrian,  Miss  Caroline,  119,  120 

Alabama,  Confederate  cruiser,  180,  189 

Alcock,  Sir  Rutherford,  177 

Alert,  U.  S.  S.  S.,  283-291 

Allen  Street  Church,  53,  63 

Amboynia,  288 

American  Board,  C.  F.  M.,  17,  58,  269 

American  commerce  with  China,  100 

American  Mission  Home,  249 

American  missionaries  in  Japan,  241,  269,  299 

Amherst  College,  36 

Amoy,  142 

Ando  Taro,  Hon.,  207,  208 

Anjer,  Java,  139 

Arai  Hakus^ki,  261 

Arnold,  Matthew,  quoted,  323 

Asakusa,  155,  156 

Asiatic  Society  of  Japan,  245,  267 

Auburn,  N.  Y,.  121,  214 

Auburn  Theological  Seminary,  121,  131 

"  Ballagh,  Harold,"  275-277 

Ballagh,  Rev.  J.  H.,  238 

Ballagh,  Mrs.  J.  H.,  171,  176,  249,  267 

Barker,  Admiral,  284,  290 

Bartlett,  Rev.  Shuabel,  18,  64 

Benjamin,  Mr.  Simeon,  129 

Berry,  Dr.,  244,  271 

Bible,  172,  250,  271,  302,  311 

Bible  Society,  297 

3*5 


326  Index 

Bissell,  Col.,  loi 

Bonin  Islands,  285 

Boone,  Bishop,  51 

Boston,  50 

"Boxers,"  189 

Bridgman,  Dr.,  58,  61 

Brimfield,  Mass.,  35-41 

British  and  Americans,  15,  46,  94 

British  missionaries,  94 

Brown,  Rev,  Nathan,  275 

Brown,  Phoebe  Hinsdale,  15-20,  122,  127 

Brown,  S.  R.,  ancestry,  15  ;  birth,  16  ;  education,  28- 
31,  42-53  ;  school-teaching,  32-41  ;  college  life,  45-49; 
teaching  deaf-mutes,  49,  50,  52  ;  theology,  50-54  ; 
marriage,  62  ;  at  Canton,  70,  91  ;  at  Macao,  71-81  5 
at  Hong  Kong,  85-104  ;  wounded,  98-100  ;  love  of 
music,  38-41,  93-122  ;  returns  to  America,  107,  108  ; 
at  Rome,  N.  Y.,  110-113  ;  pastor  at  Owasco  Outlet, 
1 1 7-124  ;  builds  new  church,  119  ;  his  mechanical 
skill,  121  ;  love  of  fun,  139,  277  ;  helps  to  start  Elmira 
College,  127-130  ;  offers  to  go  to  Japan,  138  ;  voyage 
thither,  139-142  ;  arrival  at  Kanagawa,  148  ;  Chaplain 
U.  S.  Legation,  152  ;  in  Yedo,  154-158  ;  his  ideal  of  a 
missionary,  162,  204,  251  ;  plans  the  British  consular 
chapel,  175  ;  catholic  spirit,  176,  177,  241-243  ;  learns 
photography,  179,  180 ;  removes  from  Kanagawa, 
182  ;  house  in  Yokohama,  191  ;  as  teacher,  104,  207- 
209,  280  ;  fire  in  house,  213  ;  in  U.  S.  again,  213-216  ; 
to  and  in  Niigata,  220-228  ;  appointed  U.  S.  consular 
agent,  227  ;  habits,  228,  229 ;  translator,  318  ;  in 
Tokio,  258,  299 ;  his  pupils  in  China,  291-294  ;  in 
Japan,  267-271,  298,  322  ;  health  fails,  271  ;  picture  of 
translators,  276-278  ;  voyage  in  Alert,  283-291  ;  in 
China  again,  291-294 ;  in  America,  307  ;  decease,  316; 
summary  of  work  and  character,  322 

Brown,  Miss  Hattie,  241,  285,  297 

Brown,  Mrs.  S.  R.,  8,  62,  66,  96,  102,  104,  123 


Index  327 

Brown,  Timothy  H.,  16,18,  21,  25,  97,  122 
Browning,  quoted,  133,  311 
Bushido,  153,  265 

Canton,  70,  91 

Chalmers,  Rev.  Dr.,  286 

China,  20,  69-72,  310 

Chinese  art,  293,  294 

Chinese  education  in  America,  26,  308,  310 

Chinese  in  America,  236 

Chinese  language,  66,  74,  75,  76,  144,  271 

Chinese  Repository,  61,  100 

Christianity  in  Japan,  215,  248,  252,  260,  261,  268-271,  300 

Clark,  Rev.  E.  W.,  261 

Classis  of  Cayuga,  iiS,  123,  138 

"  Colloquial  Japanese,"  167 

Colton,  Rev.  Simeon,  28 

Columbia,  S.  C,  51 

Constitution  of  the  U.  S.,  203 

Contest,  ship,  189 

Cornell  University,  132 

Deliberative  assemblages,  299 

De  Long,  Hon.  Chas.  E.,  236,  237 

Dewey,  Admiral,  291 

Dewey,  Rev.  Amasa,  47,  315 

Domine,  Reformed  Church  pastor,  117 

Dominie,  schoolmaster,  117 

Door,  Gen.,  149,  153 

Dutch,  139,  188,  201,  274,  287,  288 

Early  rising,  48 

Earthquakes,  149 

Echizen,  189,  204 

Education  in  China,  57-61,  71-80,  87-93 

Ellington,  18 

Elliot,  Dr.,  250 

Elmira  College,  127-130 

English  missionaries,  94,  102 


328  Index 

Forty-seven  Renins,  197 
Freeman,  Edward  A.,  193 
Fujisan,  237 
Fujiu,  Rev.  I.  K.,  268 

Gage,  Hon.  Lyman  J.,  iii 
Geology,  112 
Gettysburg,  118 
Gongs,  109 

Gratitude,  19,  294,  321 
Greene,  Rev.  D.  C,  266 
Griffis,  Miss  M.  C,  231 
Guam,  285 
Gutzlaff,  71,  141 

Hall,  Mr.  Frank,  143,  176 

Happer,  Dr.,  102 

Hara-kiri,  196,  197 

Harris,  Townsend,  152,  154,  157 

Hartranft,  Rev.  C.  D.,  215 

Hawaii,  319 

Hearn,  Lafcadio,  192 

Hepburn,  Dr.  J.  C,  87,  147,  151,  176,  202,  257,  267,  311 

Heusken,  Mr,,  157,  258 

Hequemborg,  Miss,  260 

Hickory,  46 

Hizakurige,  153 

Honda,  Rev.  Dr.,  279 

Hong  Kong,  85-87,  141,  291 

Hopkins,  Prof.  S.  M.,  119 

Hymns,  18,  19,  38 

Ibuka,  Rev.  K.,  209,  a6&,  319 
Inland  Sea,  163 
Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  180 
Iroquois  nations,  112,  128 
Ito,  Marquis,  49,  194,  235 


Index  329 

Jamestown y  U.  S.  S.  S.,  194 

Japan,  20,  65,  71 

Japan  Evangelist,  268,  271,  280 

Japanese  characteristics,  162,  173,  178,  189,  191,  235 

Japanese  language,  144,  251 

Jujitsu,  41 

Kanagawa,  147-151,  180 

Kidder,  Miss  Mary  (Mrs.  E.  R.  Miller),  lao,  217,  228,  251 

King,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  65,  94 

Korea,  2,  20 

Krakatoa,  139 

Lake  region  of  New  York,  112,  128,  131 

Latin  language,  29,  30,  117 

Legge,  Dr.  James,  87 

Lockhart,  Dr.  Wm.,  70,  91 

Lord,  Rev.  Dr.,  64 

Lowder,  Mr.  J.  C,  216 

Macao,  70,  72,  291 

Maclay,  Rev.  Dr.,  47 

Macy,  Rev.  Wm.  A.,  102,  104 

Mariana  Islands,  286 

Martin,  E.  Throop,  117 

Martin,  Dr.  W.  A.  P.,  172,  254,  292 

McCartee,  Dr.  D.  B.,  85,  87,  98 

McDougal,  Captain,  180,  184 

Merchants,  52,  53,  58 

Merrick,  Rev.  James  Lyman,  28 

Mikado,  121 

Miller,  Rev.  E.  R.,  120 

Monson,  20,  22-28,  108,  206,  311 

Morrison  Education  Society,  58-63,  72-77,  87,  90,  102-104 

Morrison,  Rev.  Robert,  j8 

Morrison  Hill,  85,  95,  98,  291 

Morrison,  ship,  61,  65,  66,  257 

Motley,  J.  L.,  274 


330  Index 

Music,  93,  122,  154,  301 
Music  in  China,  267 

Nagasaki,  20,  259 
Nakamura  Masanao,  261 
Neesima,  215,  221,  222,  225-229,  298 
New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  27,  206 
New  Haven,  41,  42,  49,  244 
Newtown,  N.  Y.,  128 
New  Year's  Day,  112 
Nevius,  Rev.  John,  166 
New  Guinea,  286 
Niigata,  216,  225-230,  278 

Okuno,  Masatsuna,  Rev.,  252-254,  255-257,  311 

Olyphant,  Mr.  D.  W.  C,  61,  62 

Opium,  71,  78 

Oshikawa,  Rev.  M.,  278,  280 

Owasco  Outlet,  117-124,  214,  318 

Parkes,  Sir  Harry,  71,  91,  201,  205 
Peiho  forts,  141,  142 
Perry,  Comodore  M.  C,  93 
Philippine  Islands,  289-291 
Photography,  179,  180,  239,  240 
Pilgrims,  The,  130 
Pirates,  98-100 
Pottinger,  Sir  Henry,  86,  91 
Pruyn,  Hon.  R.  H.,  182 

Reed,  Commodore,  70 

Reformed  Church  in  America,  117-124,  138, 175,  259,  311 

Rome  Academy,  110-113 

Roosevelt,  President,  51 

Rutgers  College,  206,  213 

Sabbath,  27 
Sailors,  187,  188 


Index  331 


Sand  Beach  Church,  117,  123 

Satow,  Sir  E.  M.,  165,  166 

Satsuma,  206,  265 

Seelye,  Pres.  J.  H.,  258 

Seward,  Hon.  Wm.  H.,  121 

Shanghai,  167,  292 

Shimonoseki,  185,  195 

Shimada  Saburo,  Hon.,  319 

Sidotti,  Pere,  261 

Silk  culture  in  America,  81 

Simmons,  Dr.  D.  B.,  138 

Spanish  East  Indies,  289 

Spaniards  in  the  Philippines,  289-291 

Springside,  117,  123 

Stout,  Dr.  Henry,  132,  241,  301,  318 

Sullivan's  Expedition  of  1779,  '28 

Sunda  Straits,  139 

Surprise,  ship,  80,  138 

Syle,  Rev.  E.  W.,  141,  242,  258 

Tatnall,  Commodore,  141,  149 

Theological  instruction,  197,  299 

Thompson,  Rev.  David,  311 

Tientsin,  141,  309 

Tokio,  258,  299 

"Tommy,"   190 

Twitchell,  Rev.  Joseph,  213,  317 

Union  Church,  Yokohama,  177,  239 

Union  Church  in  Tokio,  258 

Union  Theological  Seminary,  N.  Y,,  52,  53,  57 

United  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan,  270,  298 

Vassar  College,  130 

Veeder,  P.  V.,  38,  258 

Verbeck,  Dr.  G.  P.,  120,  138,  T43,  230,  311 

Verbeck,  Mrs.  G.  P.,  120 


332  Index 

Wales,  Mass.,  37-41 

Washing  clothes  in  China,  97 

Winn,  Miss,  296 

Winn,  Rev.  T.  C,  303 

Wood,  Chaplain,  177 

Williams,  Dr.  S.  Wells,  60,  69,  141,  257,  311,  317 

Women's  education  and  colleges,  20,  127-131,  231 

Wong,  Dr.,  108,  142 

IVyoming,  U.  S,  S.  S.,  180-185,  206 

Yale  College,  45-49,  302,  315 

Yedo,  154-157,  172,  300 

"  Yokohama  Band,"  Yokahama,  147,  188,  217,  268,  299 

Yoshitsune,  187 

Yung  Wing,  Dr.,  99,  104,  108,  121,  143,  308-310 

Zempukuji,  154,  225 
Zenkoji  Temple,  225 


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